This experiment is designed to show two concepts of concern to the food processor. One is the starch sugar conversion in potatoes, and the other is the sugar amine browning reaction, also known as Maillard browning. The metabolic processes of most plants and animals do not cease immediately after slaughter or harvest.
Potatoes continue to respire by using sugars as their energy source.
These sugars would soon be used up if it were not for the potato s ability to convert its abundant stores of starch into the reducing sugars, glucose and fructose. To retard the respiration rate and subsequent spoilage, potato processors store their potatoes under refrigeration. This introduces a further complication, in that reducing-sugar formation from starch degradation is inversely related to temperature. This means that as the temperature is decreased, the rate of sugar formation increases. This may be a protective mechanism against frost damage.