Like most of the world, I love a crisp (potato chip)! Whether it’s chilling out with friends or grabbing a bag on my lunch break, crisps are always a good idea if you ask me.
It’s not always about the brand but about taste, texture and appearance
I am not particularly loyal to any brands. But I do have my favourite flavour (BBQ) as well as key things I look for that I think make a perfect crisp. Now flavour is of course probably the most important, but what helps to make up that flavour? Attributes such as colour, texture and how well baked/fried they are all have an impact on the brands of crisps I reach for in a supermarket.
It’s not always about the brand but about taste, texture and appearance
I am not particularly loyal to any brands. But I do have my favourite flavour (BBQ) as well as key things I look for that I think make a perfect crisp. Now flavour is of course probably the most important, but what helps to make up that flavour? Attributes such as colour, texture and how well baked/fried they are all have an impact on the brands of crisps I reach for in a supermarket.
As soon as I open a packet of crisps and pour them into a bowl, I can immediately tell the kind of quality that I’m going to experience as I make my way through them.
Usually, the first thing I notice is uniformity of colour. If I can see that some are quite pale (under-baked/fried) or very dark (over-baked/fried) in colour then I know that this brand may not pay too much attention to product consistency in the production process. This means that the flavour is going to be greatly impacted and I probably would not enjoy them as much as another brand with a greater focus on consistent quality.
The second thing I’ll look for is the crunch in the crisp. Again, this can be down to under-/over-baking or -frying, but it can also be down to inaccurate moisture control. No one wants a soft or soggy crisp, do they?
How is all this monitored/controlled (the technical stuff)?
Testing products throughout the manufacturing process for moisture, oil/fat, seasoning and colour is important to ensure final consistency and freshness. Conventional measurement techniques for these key parameters provide measurements at “snapshot” intervals in time and usually take minutes or hours to perform on a small sample. Often this leads to:
- Very poor verification of on-going process control
- Potentially inefficient operation
These techniques can also be costly to maintain and require the use of chemicals which need to be disposed of.
A typical potato crisp/chip production line
Avoiding these costly and timely factors is imperative for process optimization
On-line or in-process measurements of moisture, oil/fat and degree of bake or brownness in real-time using the NDC Technologies Series 9 near-infrared gauge generate continuous, highly accurate and representative measurements of the total snack production allowing for better process control and optimization.
For processes where on-line gauging is not practical, NDC offers the InfraLab at-process analyzer as an effective alternative that provides a rapid (five seconds) measurement on representative grab samples.
The NDC Series 9 in-process gauge
Selecting the correct measurement location in the process is very important. The solution must be sited close enough to the processing operation under control to provide meaningful data, but also located at a point in the process where product presentation is of a sufficient depth and not rapidly changing.
A typical potato crisp/chip production line with Series 9 installed
NDC’s near-infrared based technology can be easily integrated into the production process via a programmable logic controller system to capture accurate and reliable measurements.
Why are moisture and degree of bake/brownness so important?
Taste, texture and appearance are all huge attributes that determine the quality of a product and ultimately instil consumer faith in it. Ensuring that a product is cooked to the same standard throughout the process is paramount to make sure consistency across these attributes. This also helps to minimize acrylamide formation -- a major concern. It is now generally understood that accurate cooking control with good moisture measurement is an essential strategy for mitigating this risk.
Find out more about acrylamide and its risks here.
Just eat the crisps (chips)!
Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking “who on earth pays this much attention to a crisp? Just eat it, man!”. Before I started working for NDC Technologies, I’d probably agree with you. I notice these things more now because I have a greater understanding of the importance of process measurement and control.
But even without the NDC know-how, I would still have had a negative consumer experience with that packet of crisps and probably wouldn’t buy them again. Something that I think everyone who enjoys crisps would relate to.
What am I getting at?
The point I’m trying to make is that while most consumers may not have a favourite brand in common, they do all want to one thing – to enjoy what they’re eating. A negative experience with your brand and the customer probably won’t buy from you again. A positive one, well they may just keep coming back for more… and more… and more. Because like a lot of foods, crisps truly are a wonderful treat, and accurate measurements of colour and moisture are essential elements of what makes them so awesome!
