CIRCULAR 121 JUNE 1957 Acceptance of an IMPROVED ?7wea~ SWEETPOTATO PUREE ~-cricu /furali6 .xperimcent Station ofl the ALABAMA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE E. V. Smith, Director Auburn, Alabama CONTENTS Page CHARACTERISTICS OF SUGAR-COOKED FROZEN SWEETFOTATO PUREE ------------------- ---METHOD OF STUDY-5 5 PREPARATION AND SERVING METHODS-7 Comm ercial Cafeterias------------------------------7 School Cafeterias _----------------------------------REACTIONS TO FROZEN S WEET P OTATO PUREE -------------PROBLEMS IN HANDLING SWE ETP OTATO PUREE ------------Comm ercial Cafeterias ------------------------------ 9 11 12 12 School Cafeterias ------------------------------------ 12 SU M M AR Y -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -- - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -1 A PP E N DIX -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -1 3 4 FIRST PRINTING 4M, JUNE 1957 Acceptance of an IMPROVED ? ei4 SWEETPOTATO PUREE JACK L. TURNER, Assistant in Agricultural Economics2 M. J. DANNER, Associate Agricultural Economist PRODUCTION OF SWEETPOTATOES in the United States and in Alabama has shown a continuous decline during the past decade. National production in 1956 was 19 per cent below 1955 and 16 per cent below the 1945-54 average." In Alabama, 1956 production was 25 per cent below 1955 and 30 per cent below the 10-year average. In 1956, only 14,000 acres were harvested in Alabama, 22 per cent below 1955 and 59 per cent below the 10-year average. National per capita consumption of sweetpotatoes also declined since 1945, from 18 to 7 pounds in 1954. 4 This decline in production and consumption occurred during a period of steadily increasing consumer incomes and declining numbers of rural-farm population. Undoubtedly, many persons who left farms found employment in industry. These factors, as well as production and marketing problems, contributed to the decreasing importance of commercial sweetpotato production. One of the major problems of commercial producers in recent years has been that of finding a profitable market outlet for Number 2 and Jumbo grades of sweetpotatoes. These off-size or offshape potatoes usually can be marketed only at unsatisfactory prices. Improved varieties and better production techniques have 1 This project was supported by funds provided for by Section 204 (B) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (Title II). 2 Resigned; now assistant horticulturist. SCrop Production, Annual Summary, December 1956, Crop Reporting Board, Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA, Washington, D.C. SAgricultural Statistics, 1955, USDA, Washington, D.C. helped to reduce the quantity of off-size and off-shape potatoes, but the problem of finding market outlets for these grades remains. Research work has been underway for several years in the Department of Horticulture, Agricultural Experiment Station of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, directed at developing new products from sweetpotatoes - products that would utilize sweetpotatoes not suitable for the fresh market as well as for market-type sweetpotatoes. Earlier research, started in 1942, placed major emphasis on the development of candies and other prepared foods made from sweetpotatoes. A number of different candies and specialty products were developed.5 Nationwide acceptance tests of these products were conducted to obtain consumer reactions to the products. 6 Also, as a part of these tests, reactions were obtained from commercial users with regard to a fully cooked sweetpotato flour.7 In recent years, the smaller acreage devoted to sweetpotatoes and the decreased per capita consumption have created concern for the future of sweetpotatoes as an important cash crop in Alabama. In addition, the need for an outlet to utilize off-shape and off-size sweetpotatoes still exists. Thus, interest has been renewed in developing new products primarily as improved frozen and canned products. One of the most promising appears to be a sugar-cooked, concentrated frozen sweetpotato puree suitable for making pie and souffle. It was felt that this product was highly adapted for general consumer use and particularly adapted to institutional use, such as commercial cafeterias. This study was an attempt to determine the acceptance of this product by commercial and school cafeterias. Specific objectives of the study were: (1) To measure acceptance of an improved, sugar-cooked, frozen sweetpotato puree by commercial cafeterias and school lunch cafeterias. (2) To determine the desirability of this puree for prepared selected products. SWare, L. M., Nature of Alayam Products. Sweetpotato Journal. December 1946. 6 Lanham, Ben T., Jr., Consumer Reactions to "Alayam" Candy, Snacks, and Breakfast Food. Bulletins 271, 272, 278. API Agricultural Experiment Station. Auburn, Alabama. 1950. Ben T., Jr., Consumer Reactions to Alamalt-A Fully Cooked Sweetpotato Flour. Progress Report Series No. 46, API Agricultural Experiment Station. Auburn, Alabama. 1950. 'Lanham, [4] CHARACTERISTICS 4 SUGAR-COOKED FROZEN SWEETPOTATO PUREE 8 Sweetpotato puree is made either from a single variety or from a blend of several varieties of sweetpotatoes. Blending varieties results in greater uniformity of color, texture, and flavor than is obtained by processing different varieties separately. The finished puree has an attractive orange color, smooth, fairly firm texture, and an outstandingly good sweetpotato flavor. The product is concentrated to approximately 40 per cent total solids during the cooking process. Practically all of the fiber or other "hard" particles are removed during the pulping process. In using this puree a relatively short cooking time is required in making the finished product. Storage life has not definitely been determined, but keeping quality appears to be good. METHOD 4 STUDY Interest in testing this product with commercial cafeterias resulted partly from the highly favorable reaction of the Food Service Department of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute to frozen sweetpotato puree. The Department of Horticulture has furnished the API Food Service Department and a number of school cafeterias with the product for the last 3 years. 9 In addition, it was felt that commercial cafeterias would furnish ideal outlets because of the nature of their operations. Commercial cafeterias and other similar institutions have reasonably uniform, standardized serving procedures and use rather large quantities of products in their operations. Five commercial and 14 school cafeterias cooperated in testing the product during the 1955-56 period. Each cafeteria was furnished a schedule to be filled in by the cooperating managers. The schedule provided space for evaluatSweetpotatoes used were peeled by steam pressure and washed in water. Ends and unpeeled spots were removed by hand trimming. The peeled potatoes were cooked in added sugar, pulped to remove fiber, and packed into 36- and 60pound tin containers. A slow freeze process was used to bring the potato puree to 0' Fahrenheit. A detailed description of the process is available from Hubert Harris, associate horticulturist, Department of Horticulture, Auburn, Ala., upon request. The API Food Service Department purchases and prepares food for all students who live in quarters furnished by the college. Meals are served cafeteria style. In addition, catering is regularly done and one cafeteria serves the general public. This latter cafeteria offered frozen sweetpotato puree at least weekly during the 1956-57 school year to an average of 1,200 patrons daily, about half of whom chose souffle made from improved puree when it was offered. Approximately 25,000 pounds of puree has been furnished the Food Service Department in the last 3 years. [5] ,y t, . N, Commercial cafeterias served pie and sauffle made frazen sweetpatata puree during acceptance study. from improved sugar-cooked co t noon1 to i r(et i nsi till i te prd ins ix for 11 uct 501 c~ at f it ne01~ t 01 tii cr (iit ase as and tx (ii ici n aotit I week Scholis fi ati ii it on 5 rc1idtr schoo lii s. d11(ax '111(2 ve xxcr i1 lUc \N s Ii tii( Phlc lix\ illjpic 0 i Yiti it rinF'Al)('iliii it Stat ion at 12 and 1 A1)1 Al4 is tial \x 1based on tr ansp~joltationi irrlell (1 (ll di(2tu ts ilorida. o11na (i ros chlijiis. (i ando 2 xx illnt ojwi at 1)1 tne indepen1 Threei xx :3 oi 1 eratiioni andii (tI( ini cwcss of i51f)0,0 ll sae xx in xx crc( 1o(atttd hiisitsx districts an t in iii siiopingii ceter. (if the a liI ll t it prioduct for tOll fl il its(i lin IIser iiw co used in preparation of the products, whereas returns are based on the selling price of the prepared products. PREPARATION awl SERVING METHODS Commercial Cafeterias Three of the 5 commercial cafeterias featured the product as souffle and all 5 featured it as pie. Each cafeteria prepared products from their own recipes (see appendix), which particularly for souffle accounts in part for the wide differences in number of servings obtained per pound of puree used, Table 1. Rather generous servings were offered, however, in cafeterias 1 and 2. Pounds of puree used varied with the different cafeterias as did the number of servings obtained from each pound served. For example, for souffle, cafeteria 3 used much less puree in relation to other materials; in preparing pie, cafeteria 4 used more puree in relation to other materials. Undoubtedly, these conditions markedly affected quality of the finished products. Consumer purchases of souffle and pie varied for the different cafeterias. There was no indication that sales of the product increased from beginning to end of the test period, but products were prepared in conservative quantities. Once the supply was exhausted, no effort was made to replenish the supply. Cafeterias 2 and 5 experienced sell-outs of pie on several days in featuring the product. No comparison was made between souffle and any one vegetable, but generally 6 to 8 vegetables were offered in TABLE 1. PERCENTAGE IN OF FOOD THE COST TO IMPROVED SALES INCURRED BY CAFETERIAS TESTING SWEETPOTATO PUREE, COMMERCIAL 1955-56 Cafeteria Number Potato souffle 1-.... 2...... 3-.... Potato pie 1 -.. 2 ..... 3...._ 4..... 5 ... Amount of potato puree used Pounds 200 904 79 65 330 43 202 28833 Servings per pound of puree Number 3.50 3.23 7.11 6.00 6.82 8.00 4.62 6.00 Cost of materials proin finishedu Dollars 40.19 169.51 21.33 24.31 99.51 16.00 53.01 81.74 Percentage food cost to sales 2 Per cent 42.7 41.6 25.3 48.1 31.2 31.0 42.0 39.9 SPotato puree cost 12 cents per pound. 2 Percentage of food cost to sales was determined by dividing the total cost of materials for preparing the product by the total sales of the product. [7] A These pies were prepared from the improv'ed puree developed at Auburn. foi ptit Axiti coliipttitict)1 I iii f roni Stit (iilleirit dl(ssNrts of - Nil llt~ct caletia Ciii chos f n 1lilt, ii. wilc out 4i 12 chiosN the jlioti I'r)c~l I Ii \ I'IIal -:nm \ rurrP (, I I Wv u2 52 \I LNi6 N?i t 1 A. 1 (ii I i.') 51 )005 1) 1')] TABLE 3. PERCENTAGE SERVED IN OF IMPROVED SWEETPOTATO COMMERCIAL SELECTED CAFETERIAS, PRODUCTS OF ALL ITEMS 1955-56 Total' vegetable Servings of Percentage Cafeteria Number Potato souffle or dessert items served Number 11,603 26,198 5,093 sweetpotato product Number 628 2,714 562 product of all items Number 5.4 10.4 11.0 1__________ 2___________ 3___________ All_________ 42,894 3,904 337 2,126 344 833 1,365 5,005 9.1 5.3 15.6 17.3 5.3 10.8 10.0 Potato pie 1___________ 6,397 2-.........-13,614 3_________ 1,988 4_________ 15,720 5 .......... 12,588 All 50,307 fered among desserts than for vegetables, about 6 per cent of the patrons in all cafeterias chose the improved sweetpotato pie. One out of 7 patrons of the smallest cafeteria chose sweetpotato pie, as compared with 1 out of 14 patrons of the largest cafeteria. Cafeteria 4 had rather disappointing results with pie, but it was previously noted that this cafeteria used proportionately a greater amount of puree than did other cafeterias. Results showing percentage of improved sweetpotato products of all vegetable or dessert items sold are shown in Table 3. Competing with 6 to 8 vegetable items, sweetpotato souffle was chosen in 1 out of 11 instances for all cafeterias reporting. Only 3 cafeterias prepared souffle, but 2 of the 3 had satisfactory results. Results with sweetpotato pie, in general, were good. In competition with 8 to 10 dessert items, the improved pie accounted for 10 per cent of the items sold in all cafeterias. Cafeterias 1 and 4 did not have results nearly as satisfactory as the other three, however. As reported earlier, if supplies of the improved products were exhausted during a serving period they were not replaced. Improved products were not featured but were displayed with the general assortment of competing items. School Cafeterias Schools cooperating in making tests with frozen puree offered it at the regular noon meal as souffle only. Each cafeteria used its own recipes in preparing the product, which partly accounts [9] Sweetpotato souffle was served by commercial and school cafeterias in study. 'loei (I' vv ere ariittioiis lttss ((ii5(1 lit and( cost p1 ii 145per j)(ii I ). iI~tir i r. uri r~r Si iisi \ (u XInvu ii ~u SIi r\ u t~ur ii S< Fiisuuc r Slut n it (r <0il- ) I 1,5 1 sIt 5.7 iill 5 1 II a 5 5t ' 1 I SIIt -i)L 'tis S. 0tI Sz I.5 07 .) ~ SO I11 I IS, i ti.-. I Itt 1 cost decreased, Table 4. Schools 6, 9, and 10 were grammar schools and each obtained a rather large number of servings from each pound of puree used. REACTIONS to FROZEN SWEETPOTATO PUREE All cafeterias that tested the sweetpotato puree were highly favorable toward the product. A rating of good or excellent was given in 98 per cent of all instances in which various factors were evaluated, Table 5. There were no apparent differences between large, commercial cafeterias and school lunch cafeterias in their ratings of the product. With regard to flavor, all replies were either excellent or good. In only one instance did color rate other than excellent or good. For fiber content, waste, and uniformity, almost all replies were, excellent. Keeping quality was considered good to excellent by all but one cafeteria. TABLE 5. EVALUATION OF FROZEN SWEETPOTATO PUREE CHARACTERISTICS BY 17 SELECTED COMMERCIAL AND SCHOOL CAFETERIAS' Factors evaluated Excellent Evaluation Good Fair Poor Number F lav o r ------------------------ --------------------------T extu re -- -- ----- -- -- - -- -- -- - -- ---- ----- C o lo r ----------------------------- Number 6 4 8 Number 1 Number 12 11 l 12 8 - - - Fiber content --------------------- ---- ------- 15 2 Ease of preparation ---------------------------116 Labor required in preparing-----------------10 7 Length of cooking time ------------------------8 9 Yield --- --- -- --- -- ----- - --- -- - - -9 6 13 16 1 W aste involved--------------------1 15 1 Uniformity in quality--------------11 6 Keeping quality (refrigerated)-------13 4 Keeping quality (frozen) -----------in each column indicates the number of cafeterias rating the 1 The number product as such. 2 Reason given-too orange or yellow; should be brown. 'Reason given-product too dense. In three of the commercial cafeterias, table tents were provided indicating that perimental puree with an invitation to patrons to make comments voluntarily. A number of these comments were given. With only a few exceptions, comments were highly favorable. 1 0 10 Of replies from 133 patrons, 96 per cent were favorable, 2 per cent were unfavorable, and 2 per cent were neither entirely favorable nor unfavorable. the pie and souffle were made from improved, ex- [ 111] PROBLEMS i& HANDLING SWEETPOTATO PUREE Commercial Cafeterias Sweetpotatoes served as candied sweetpotatoes have long been a standard item for cafeteria use. Frozen puree cannot compete in this regard and many cafeterias will continue to prefer sweetpotatoes candied from fresh potatoes. This was indicated in preferences of cooperating cafeterias when asked to evaluate frozen puree in comparison with fresh and canned potatoes for their particular over-all use. One preferred the new product, 2 still preferred fresh potatoes, and 2 indicated they had no preferences. None of the cafeterias had used a frozen sweetpotato puree previously. Although two cafeterias preferred fresh potatoes, they also indicated that they would purchase a frozen product of this type if it were on the market and priced to suit their use. Cost for preparing the product was thought to be relatively high by cafeterias 1, 2, and 4, but not excessive. In evaluating the size of container best suited for frozen puree, no consistent size container was indicated. Recipes used and size of operation influenced the size of container listed as ideal for a product of this kind. Sizes preferred by the cafeterias were: Cafeteria number Size of tin container preferred 1 2 3 4 5 10 to 20 pounds 25 to 30 pounds 5 to 10 pounds 20 pounds 30 pounds School Cafeterias A very strong preference was expressed by school cafeterias for the frozen puree. All cafeterias expressed a preference for the puree over other forms of sweetpotatoes with reasons given being better texture, free of fiber, good color, ease of preparation, and fresh sweetpotato flavor. Three of the 12 cafeterias had used a canned product similar to the puree, but the remaining 9 had never used a similar product. Four different size containers were listed as being preferred by these cafeterias. Fifty-eight per cent preferred the 36-pound tin container because it furnished enough puree for one complete serving. Other desired sizes were 10-, 45- and 60-pound containers. [12] Eighty-three per cent of the school cafeterias had some kind of frozen storage space. Most of the frozen storage was regular deep-freeze space and did not provide space for excess storage. Two schools had ice cream boxes for storing frozen products. Sixty-seven per cent of the cafeterias thought the frozen puree easier to handle and less trouble to prepare than other forms of sweetpotatoes. Three cafeterias preferred canned sweetpotatoes and 1 had no preference for ease of handling. SUMMARY In evaluating the physical characteristics of frozen sweetpotato puree - a new product - 98 per cent of all the ratings given the product were either good or excellent by commercial and school cafeterias. The excellent rating was given more often than good. Results indicate that the product was highly acceptable for preparing souffle and/or pie in 3 of the 5 commercial cafeterias that tested the product. While differences existed among cafeterias, patrons were almost as likely to select the improved sweetpotato product as those products with which it was in competition. All five cafeterias indicated they would purchase a product of this kind if it were on the market and priced to suit their use. Size of container listed as being most desirable for the product varied with the different recipes and the size of operation. A can size of 10 to 30 pounds appeared to be the most desirable. All of the school cafeterias expressed a desire to purchase a product of this kind for use in preparing consumer products. Ease of preparation and the small amount of waste involved were thought to be the most outstanding features of the product by this group of cafeterias. [13] APPENDIX Recipe Used by One Commercial Cafeteria SWEETPOTATO PIE Ingredients Granulated sugar Salt Cinnamon Pastry flour Sweetpotato (puree) White corn syrup Milk Lb. 2 Oz. Method Sift together sugar, salt, flour, and cinnamon 13 3 Mix sweetpotato puree with sifted ingredients until well blended Add white syrup and mix well Add milk until proper consistency is reached Allow mixture to stand ONE HOUR 4-6 before adding eggs. It takes about this length of time for the proper absorption Whole eggs Whip whole eggs and add sweetpotato mixture mixing well While filling is being poured into shells, continue to stir balance of mix occasionally Bake 40 to 45 minutes at 4000; remove pies from oven just before they puff completely over the center YIELD: 13 to 14 pies [14]