Detailed Explanation of Potato Soft Candy Processing Technology

A high-grade soft candy made with potatoes as the main raw material has excellent taste and color, is moderately soft, sweet and delicious, and is very popular among consumers. It also features simple equipment, easy production, and high profit.

5 kg potato paste, 3 kg white sugar, 1.3 kg edible gelatin, 2.5 kg water, 10 g sodium benzoate, an appropriate amount of flavoring, 2.4 g sodium sulfite, an appropriate amount of edible coloring, and citric acid with the amount adjusted according to pH

1. Material selection: select potatoes that are not moldy, deteriorated, frost-damaged, or blackened for processing.

2. Cleaning: wash several times with clean water, remove impurities, and drain off the water.

3. Peeling and cutting into strips: after manually peeling the potatoes, cut them into strips about 15 mm long and 15 mm wide, then immediately put them into a plate containing cold water to prevent spoilage and discoloration.

4. Preservation and bleaching: prepare an aqueous solution containing 0.4% sodium sulfite, drain the potato strips thoroughly and weigh them, put them into the solution and soak for 1 hour, then drain off the water thoroughly.

5. Blanching: bring clean water to a boil, put the potato strips in and blanch for 2 minutes, then immediately put them into cold water, rinse 2-3 times, and drain off the water thoroughly.

6. Boiling the potatoes: put the thoroughly drained potato strips into a pot and add cold water, with the water weight about 2 times that of the potato strips, preferably enough water to submerge the potato strips. Heat and boil until the potato strips become soft. Pinch the potato strips with your hand; once they can split open, stop the heat, remove them, and drain off the water thoroughly.

7. Grinding into paste: grind the thoroughly drained potato strips into potato paste, the finer the better, then calculate the weight of the potato paste.

8. Boiling the paste slurry: put water and white sugar into a double-layer pot and heat. After the white sugar dissolves, add the potato paste and citric acid. When the pH value is 3, stop adding acid. When the temperature reaches 107°C, add the dissolved sodium benzoate and gelatin to the syrup (before boiling the sugar, put the gelatin into a container and add cold water, with the cold water about 2 times the amount of gelatin, then put the container holding the gelatin into 50°C water to dissolve it), then boil for another 3-5 minutes and stop the heat. During the boiling process, continuously scrape the bottom of the pot with a spatula. When the temperature drops to about 60°C, add the flavoring and the coloring previously mixed with edible alcohol, and stir evenly.

9. Pouring into trays: this step should be carried out when the syrup temperature is 60°C. Pour the syrup into trays or molds to a thickness of about 12 mm. The trays should be placed horizontally and left still, and must not be moved.

10. Cooling: place the trays or molds in a sanitary, dry place and let them cool naturally until the candy solidifies.

11. Cutting into pieces: use a stainless steel knife to cut the candy into pieces about 18 mm long and about 10 mm wide; other shapes can also be cut. Sprinkle and coat with a layer of white sugar, lift them out along the bottom with a stainless steel knife, and place them in a tray containing white sugar so they do not stick together.

12. Air-drying: place the candy pieces in a sanitary, dry place to air-dry for about 24 hours, or dry them and then package them.