---

Three sweet potato varieties namely, Bereda, Falaha and Belela with specific gravity1.06, 1.00 and 0.95 and moisture content of 77.32, 74.96 and 77.80% respectively have been studied for their suitability of chips production. Three blanching times (1, 3 and 5 minutes) in hot water at 90°C and two dehydration methods (hot air at 70°C and salt solution) were used in the study to find out the pretreatments, that would give products of acceptablequality.Ground nut oil was used for frying the slices at 160°C. The study shows that variety Bereda resulted in chips with better flavor, crispness, color and overall acceptance, as compared to the other two varieties. Chips produced from all three varieties were found to have flavor acceptance with average scores of 3.61, 3.68 and 3.54 for Belela, Bereda and Falaha, respectively, in which statistically not significant differences existed. Among the three blanching times considered the 5 min duration resulted in chips with a better sensory quality than those of the 3 and 1 min duration.

Author: Addisalem Hailu, Msc graduate in Food Engineering from Haramaya University.

---