Evening star., 1951-02-05
Strained Sweet Potatoes
for Young Consumers
By Violet Faulkner

By Violet Foulkner
Food Editor.
The year 1949 will go down ir
growing history as the perioe
when Americas babies began tt
eat sweet potatoes right arounc
the calander.
Strained sweet potatoes were
merely a hopeful gleam in th'
eyes Of laboratory experts fol-
more than a year before the
golden product graduated to re-
tail shelves. Here we can trace
a typical life line of one industry
from sweet potato growers and
prospective growers. to shippers
and to every one who works be-
hind the scenes to handle this
important crop. -
Development of strained sweet
potatoes for the high chair trade
came at a time when Southern
growers. long plagued by the
familiar problem of surplus sweets
had enlisted the aid of State Ag-
ricultural Experiment Stations in
seeking new outlets for this major
crop. Fast-growing demands from
baby food packers is especially
significant to growers this year
with the second largest crop in
history, more than So million
bushels. The opening of this new
market by the pioneering SITS
million baby food industry has
set off a wave of intensive study
and exploration that already is
having far-reaching consequences
Development of strained sweets
for babies challenged the ingenuity
Of field men and transportation ex'
perts as well as skilled technicians
First and always the highly per-
ishable sweet potato poses an un-
relenting time problem. Time
trouble logged every step from the
moving of sweets out of carefully
controlled storage temperatures
through actual preparation in the
baby-food plants. The U. S. De-
partment of Agriculture warns
that they are a handle and store
with care" crop. Baby foods
packers learned the hard way by
starting quantity shipments. They
found that sweet potatoes wait for
no man.
A two-way time obstacle baked
the early stages of the laboratory
battle to capture the known food
valuessof the sweet potato. Irreg-
ularities in the raw product def1ed
an all-mechanical operation. Slow
hand labor and careful handling
were being used for peeling and
trimming. yet full speed ahead
was essential to Offset rapid
oxidation.
When there's a laboratory
there's usually a way with food.
Repeated tests revealed that
preparation of sweets could be
divided into two stages after their
vigorous scrubbing. Stringy ends
are cut and the potatoes partially
machine-peeled. Then hand labor
takes over the really critical job,
for the machine can hit only the
high spots.
The peeled potatoes, still un-
trimmed, are speeded along q
wide, brightly lighted belt line
where at least 20 skilled women
inspectors handle each potato
individually. All eyes are on those
potato eyes, deft fingers trim out
even tiny blemishes. Many secrets
of the process are guarded, but
minutes and seconds are being
trimmed along with the potatoes
to get the product into the little
4A-ounce containers in the
shortest possible time. Maximum
from peeling to jars is Is minutes
often it's nearer IL.
Experienced lab men concede
that the production of strained
sweet potatoes has been one of
the most complicated jobs ever
tackled by the baby foods in
dustry. Their research uncovered
unsuspected factors such as that
the state of maturity in the
potato makes a difference in its
rate of oxidation. AS baby food
specialists. the laboratory was
working mainly on the preserva-
ton of nutrients. Even early tests
showed good supplies of essential
vitamin c and iron, along with
the known vitamin A dividends.
Color and flavor were uppermost
in mind. for the final product
must hold the bright yellow that
advertises carotene wealth, which
the body transforms into the A
vitamin. Bright color. too, is ap-
pealing to babies. Psychologists
are convinced that yellow is a par
ticular color favorite with small
fry. accounting for the popularity
OF carrots, squash and sweet po-
tatoes. Continuing research is
centering around greater regu-
larity and deeper color. Test runs
OF new varieties are watched in
the hope of improving quality
color and texture. Baby food
packers want deep orange OF
orange-salmon color all the way
through. requirement that has
made the copper-skinned Puerto
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