Potatoes have been around for thousands of years and find themselves in a plethora of food recipes. Most of us go about our day not giving this vegetable too much thought, yet the mighty potato is quite a remarkable root vegetable. Here’s why:
Potatoes can basically grow anywhere
Potatoes are a cool-weather type of crop that typically thrives in the more northern parts of the world. However, they can also be grown as winter crops in warmer environments. Potatoes can also be grown at higher altitudes and are pretty resistant to harsh growing conditions. They can even tolerate light frost. According to the FAO (FAOSTAT, 2021), 376 million tons of potatoes were produced globally. The top ten producing countries are:
The top ten European countries producing potatoes are:
Out of a total official of 195 countries, a staggering 160 countries produce potatoes, so quite the versatile crop that remains very local!
Potatoes are packed with nutrients
Potatoes are packed with minerals and vitamins such as magnesium, potassium, vitamin C and Vitamin B6. They also contain antioxidant compounds such as flavonoids, carotenoids, and phenolic acids.
Antioxidants have a scavenger function in the body. It helps to protect our cells from the damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules that are made during normal cell metabolism. If not eliminated, they can build up in cells and cause damage to other molecules. This in turn could lead to an increased risk of cancer and other diseases such as diabetes or even heart disease. Potatoes also contain resistant starch.
This special type of starch is not broken down nor fully absorbed by the body. When resistant starch reaches the large intestine, it can become a food source for the good bacteria. Resistant starch may have important health benefits, including the reduction of insulin resistance.
Potatoes are one of the most sustainable foods in the world
Studies have shown that potatoes produce less greenhouse gases and require less water compared with many other crops (Liu et al., 2021). On top of that, potatoes produce more food energy per m3 of water used, compared to many other crops (Potato | Land & Water | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations | Land & Water | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, n.d.). Potatoes also create less waste. Up to 85% of the potato plant can be consumed.
Potato-Maize: the perfect ingredient for a sustainable future
Whilst potato drinks are not new, they often taste very starchy. Thanks to the combination of potato and maize, two ancient crops, we created a much better tasting alternative that combines the best of both worlds: legumes and grains. Potato-Maize allows for clean, clear and short labelling. The products can simply be declared as potato and corn syrup or potato and corn extract.
Potato-Maize has a dextrose equivalence of 45 and can be used in many applications such as biscuits, bakery, dairy products (drinks, yogurts, desserts, …), plant-based products, plant) based drinks, and many more. Potato-Maize can be used to provide a plethora of functionalities such as natural taste, sweetness, bulking agent, crispness, viscosity…just to name a few.
Meurens Natural: Sustainable Innovation at its core
Meurens Natural has been a pioneer in the organic sector and has been focused on producing clean label organic and natural cereal extracts for more than 30 years. With a unique and innovative production process, that is 100% in line with the organic philosophy, that includes five essential steps: milling, hydrolysis, mechanical filtration (our filtration step is carried out completely mechanically, without the use of conventional methods, technical and chemical agents, and without demineralization), evaporation, and packaging, we can offer our customers ingredients that are all natural and organic.
As the European specialist in cereal hydrolysis, Meurens Natural can hydrolyze a wide variety of cereals using flour and not only starch as in the conventional glucose industry. The hydrolysis of flour as part of a production process that is clean, simple and environmentally-friendly provides the following advantages:
- No use of chemical additives as does the conventional industries (such as H2SO4 – sulfuric acid, NaOH – sodium hydroxide, Na2CO3 – sodium carbonate, SO2- sulfur dioxide)
- No conventional processing methods such as the use of ion exchange resins for demineralizing (refining) sweetened juices or fruit juices,
- A complete traceability from the raw material up to the syrup,
- All characteristics of the processed cereal are preserved to the maximum: taste, color and minerals. This allows for short, clear, and clean labelling.
Using a wide variety of sugar structures, dextrose equivalents (DE), sweetness, viscosities, colors, flavors, and raw materials, the Sipal ® (organic) and Natu® (conventional) ranges can achieve a multitude of objectives for all preparations in the food processing sectors. Our latest innovations include millet syrups, potato-maize syrups, organic and conventional rice, and oat proteins.
