Potato and Potato Based Products

It needs to be noted and well understood that potato is a plant. The root constitutes the fleshy part which is eaten as a vegetable. Also, potato is used to make different kinds of medicinal products. Potato is used to cure diabetes, indigestion (dyspepsia), high blood pressure and even any kind of heart disease. However, it should be noted and well understood that there is no good scientific evidence to support the uses of potato. 

There are several uses of potato – such as for removing rust, creating fine art, removing berry stains, cleaning silverware, smoothening burns, and much more. Let us also get a brief about potatoes as annual plants. The part of the plant that has miscellaneous uses grows underground. Although these grow underground, these are stems and not roots, and are termed as tubers. Potatoes are considered to be rich in minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants which make them very healthy. The various health benefits associated with consumption of potatoes are – increasing immunity, reducing heart disease, improving blood sugar levels, and much more. 

Normally, fresh potatoes are boiled, baked or fried and are used in many recipes such as potato soup, potato salad, twice-baked potatoes, potato dumplings, mashed potatoes, potato pancakes and others. There are many potato based products as well as potato by-products. These include boiled potato peels, potato slices, potato flakes, potato hash, potato pulp, French fries, potato crisps and so on. 

It is noteworthy and worthwhile to know that potato is grown all over the country, mainly in Uttar Pradesh. Potato is highly rich in starch and also contains vitamin A, C, iron, calcium and phosphorus. It has a high protein calorie ratio. When proteins are boiled, it increases the protein content and also doubles the calcium content. It is mainly used as a vegetable and is available in various forms such as livestock fodder, starch, flour, dextrin as well as alcohol. Potato is increasingly used in the form of chips, wafers and snack food. There are many consumers of potato who consume potato in their regular meals. Also, in the financially fast paced society, there is increased use of potato snacks which are easy to buy, store as well as eat. Thus, the wafers and chips market seem to hold reasonably good growth prospects. The main consumers of potato based products are families in urban and semi-urban areas. Also, significant quantities of potatoes are consumed in hotels, restaurants, canteens as well as army establishments.

 

The potato snack category is sub divided into traditional as well as western segment. The traditional segment has products such as bhujia, chanachur, etc. whereas the western segment has products such as cheese balls, potato chips, and so on. The leading brands in the market for potato products ate Bingos, Ruffles, Uncle Chips, Lays, Bennie’s, and few more in the list to add on. The market for potato and potato based products is on a rise and much has been already discussed herewith for the best of understanding.