My Dad’s Chips are distinct from other potato chips in a lot of ways: taste, crunch, chip size, etc. One of MDC’s most notable variations from other potato chips is the color.
Within any given bag of MDC, there can be a wide array of colors, ranging from light yellow to dark brown. So, when you pull a potato chip out of a bag of My Dad’s Chips, you may wonder why MDC are darker than most other potato chips on the market. The answer to why this happens is not simple, and we’ll dive in below…
Why Do Potatoes Turn Brown?
You’ve probably been told not to store your potatoes in the refrigerator, but were you ever taught why? One of the core components of potatoes is starch, which is made up of a long chain of glucose molecules. When potatoes are stored below 40°F, the chain is broken down and the individual glucose molecules become available. This allows for what is known as the Maillard Reaction. The Maillard Reaction occurs when sugar and protein (MDC has 2 grams of protein per serving!) are exposed to high temperatures for a long enough period of time, causing the potato slice to brown. This is the same reaction that occurs in frying meats, toasting bread, and creating caramel.
Why My Dad’s Chips are Darker Than Other Chips?
One of the reasons My Dad’s Chips have so much taste is because we use a Russet potato. Russet potatoes have a higher starch content than the types of white potatoes used by the other chip brands. This leaves them more susceptible to the effects of the Maillard Reaction.The level of browning in the chip, however, is not absolute. Potato storage and preparation is an inexact science that is extremely difficult to regulate without vertically integrating our supply chain.
How Do You Solve This?
Two significant factors affecting the sugar content of the potatoes (given they are stored in cold environments) are the length of storage time, and the length of time removed from storage before frying. Russet potatoes are harvested once a year from the end of September through October. However, the world demands potatoes year-round. This means that Russet potatoes on the market in August were actually grown ten or eleven months prior!
The potatoes must be refrigerated to ensure they do not spoil. The longer the potatoes are in refrigerated storage, the more prominent the starch-to-glucose conversion. This conversion is reversible, to an extent, if after refrigerated storage, the potatoes are stored in a dark, room temperature environment for 5-10 days.
My Dad’s Chips were originally homemade by our founder in his kitchen. So, it has taken time to perfect the MDC production process on a manufacturing level, but we have finally done it! If you are looking for the best, unique homestyle potato chips that are bursting with color and flavor, then you need to try a bag of My Dad’s Chips today!
Information was gathered from the following sources: