To what extent is it possible to produce potato-based pasta products with by-products of the potato value chain?
Author
van Hulten, Sarah Tamar
Term
4. Term
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-05-31
Pages
60
Abstract
This thesis examines how far by-products from the potato value chain can be upcycled into potato-based pasta products. The aim is to cut waste at producers and offer a potential gluten-free alternative to rice noodles. A potato-based option may be more climate friendly than rice noodles: rice noodles emit about 5.12 kg CO2 per kg, while a potato-based alternative emits about 1.68 kg CO2 per kg. To use potato by-products in pasta, they must first be turned into usable ingredients, such as potato flour (made by dehydrating and milling whole potatoes) or potato starch (extracted from potato pulp). Potato flour has limited baking/binding properties, so it must be blended with another flour, for example semolina, and the production method is similar to wheat-based pasta. Potato starch, by contrast, has baking/binding properties and in this work is considered to have the potential to substitute wheat flour 1:1 in pasta production. Because the main ingredient would then be starch rather than flour, the production method would differ from pasta made with potato flour. To make the findings more applicable in a Danish business context, the project collaborated with EatWasted, a company that upcycles bread into pasta, to explore expanding into potato by-products. Two practical pathways were outlined: 1) Collect whole potatoes from a processor/wholesaler and mill them into flour to be mixed with semolina; this follows a process similar to wheat pasta. 2) Partner with a producer of side-stream starch and use this starch for pasta production; this would require a production method different from current wheat-based processes, because starch is the main ingredient.
Formålet med specialet er at undersøge, i hvilket omfang biprodukter fra kartoffelværdikæden kan opcycles til kartoffelbaserede pastaprodukter. Målet er både at reducere spild hos producenterne og at skabe et muligt glutenfrit alternativ til risnudler. En kartoffelbaseret løsning kan være mere klimavenlig end risnudler: risnudler udleder ca. 5,12 kg CO2 pr. kg, mens et kartoffelbaseret alternativ udleder ca. 1,68 kg CO2 pr. kg. For at bruge kartoffelbiprodukter i pasta skal de først omdannes til en anvendelig ingrediens, fx mel af tørrede hele kartofler (potato flour) eller kartoffelstivelse (potato starch). Mel af tørrede hele kartofler fremstilles ved at dehydrere kartoflen og male den til mel. Dette mel har begrænsede bage-/bindings-egenskaber, så det skal blandes med et andet mel, fx durummel (semolina), og produktionen minder derfor om almindelig hvedepasta. Kartoffelstivelse udvindes af kartoffelpulpen og har bage-/bindings-egenskaber; i dette arbejde vurderes den at kunne erstatte hvedemel 1:1 i pastaproduktion. Fordi hovedingrediensen i så fald er stivelse og ikke mel, vil fremstillingsmetoden adskille sig fra pasta baseret på mel af tørrede kartofler. For at gøre resultaterne mere anvendelige i en dansk forretningskontekst blev der etableret et samarbejde med EatWasted, en virksomhed der opcycler brød til pasta, for at undersøge om deres praksis kan udvides til kartoffelbiprodukter. To konkrete veje blev skitseret: 1) Hente hele kartofler hos en kartoffelforarbejder/grossist og male dem til mel, der blandes med durummel; denne proces ligner hvedebaseret pastaproduktion. 2) Indgå samarbejde med en producent af sidestream-stivelse og anvende denne stivelse i pastaproduktionen; her vil produktionsmetoden afvige fra den nuværende hvedebaserede proces, fordi stivelse er hovedingrediensen.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]