Chemical Composition of Potatoes. I. Preliminary Studies on the Relationships Between Specific Gravity and the Nitrogenous Constituents

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
SUMMARY: Katahdin potatoes (1959 crop) were placed in storage at 38°F. Monthly samples were removed and separated into three specific‐gravity levels‐‐‐high, intermediate, and low. Total solids changed but little in storage, indicating that shrinkage is due to a loss of both solids and water in the ratio in the original composition. Total and soluble nitrogen analyses over 10 months demonstrated an inverse relationship between total solids and these constituents when calculated on a moisture‐free basis. The nitrogen per gram of fresh weight shows no significant difference between samples of different solids contents. Therefore, the apparent inverse relationship on a moisture‐free basis is due to the storage of other constituents, presumed to be principally starch, in the case of high‐solids potatoes. About 60‐62% of the nitrogen is extracted by 70% by weight ethanol. Subsampling of large lots of potatoes for specific‐gravity studies is extremely difficult. All data should be checked for variations from sampling error.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: