Turnkey Solutions for Potato Chips and French Fries Lines
Crispy Potato Sticks Production Line
Potato sticks (also known as shoestring fries) are a potato product made from potatoes via a number of processes including washing, peeling, cutting, rinsing, blanching, dewatering and frying.
Compared to conventional french fries the potato sticks are smaller in cross section. The standard sizes would be 3x3mm, 4x4mm and 5x5mm but of course can be tailored to the market and to the customer’s requirements.
Potato Sticks Production Line Working Flow:
The process of making potato sticks is pretty much the same as that of french fries, the main difference being in the cutting.
Raw Material Washing and Peeling
Fresh potatoes go into a washing and peeling machine where they are passed over rotating brushes and water sprays to remove the surface soil, the impurities and the skins.
Sorting and Cutting
After washing the potatoes are manually or automatically sorted to remove any that are bad (rotten, sprouted etc). They are then fed into a cutter which cuts the potatoes into thin sticks of the required dimensions.
Rinsing and Starch Removal
The surfaces of the cut potato sticks will invariably have a certain amount of free starch on them. Rinsing equipment is used to remove this excess starch, which prevents the strips sticking together in later processing and improves the finished product’s appearance.
Blanching and Cooling
The potato sticks go into the blancher and are subjected to a heat treatment at a particular temperature for a particular time. The purpose of blanching is to inactivate the enzymes and improve the colour of the product.
Dewatering and Pre-frying
For products that require pre-frying the strips go through a vibrating dewatering unit (or air drying) to remove the surface moisture prior to frying. They are then sent into the fryer for a very short pre-fry.
Washing and Peeling Machine: employs rotating brushes and a high pressure water spray to remove the soil and peel from the surface of the potatoes.
Potato Sticks Cutter: cuts potatoes into uniform thin strips. The blade assembly can be changed to give different cut sizes as required by the product. Common sizes are 2×2, 3×3 and 4×4 (mm).
Rinsing machine: removes the free starch from the surface of the potato sticks to prevent them sticking together.
Blanching machine: controls water temperature and processing time to improve the colour of the sticks and give them better stability for the subsequent processing.
Vibratory dewatering machine to remove the excess surface moisture from the sticks prior to frying.
Continuous fryer: This is the core equipment of potato sticks processing line. It’s designed to give you a continuous production run and will give you consistent frying results through the use of precise temperature control.
Automatic packaging machine: carries out the quantitative weighing, packaging and sealing thus increasing the packaging efficiency.
FAQ of Potato Sticks Production Line
Q1: Can the potato sticks processing line produce potato sticks in various specs?
Yes. By changing the cutting blade assemblies you can produce potato strips of various cross section (e.g. 3x3mm, 4x4mm, 5x5mm). The exact sizes available will depend on the machine configuration.
Q2: What is the production capacity of the potato sticks line?
The capacity can be designed to the client’s requirements. The raw material processing capacity, the cutting efficiency and the configuration of the fryer all have an effect on the total output. Typical capacities would be in the region of 300 kg/h to 2,000 kg/h.
Q3: Can the potato sticks production line produce frozen potato sticks?
Yes, but that would require the addition of freezing equipment.
Q4: What are the key factors to take into account when setting up a potato sticks processing plant?
Key considerations are the availability of raw potatoes, the product specification, the required production capacity, the floor space at the facility, the utility supply (water, electricity and energy), the cold store requirements and the requirements of the target market.
Q5: Can the potato sticks production line be customised?
Yes, we can design production lines in a variety of configurations depending on the client’s particular method of processing, the conditions of the facility, the budget and the level of automation required.
