SUITABILITY OF THREE NEWLY RELEASED KENYAN POTATO VARIETIES FOR PROCESSING INTO CRISPS AND FRENCH FRIES

French fries and potato crisps are the most consumed industrially processed potato products in Kenya, especially in the major urban centers. Processors have, however, complained of the inadequate supply and low quality of potatoes currently available in the market. This study was instituted to evaluate the suitability of three newly released Kenyan potato varieties for processing. The three new potato varieties (Purple Gold, Kenya Mpya and Sherekea) and two established varieties (Tigoni and Dutch Robjin) used in this study were grown under standard conditions at the National Potato Research Centre, Kenya. They were harvested at maturity, cured and analyzed for physico-chemical characteristics and processed into crisps and French fries for suitability evaluation. All the cultivars had tuber sizes within recommended range for crisps (40-60 mm) and French fries ( ≤ 45 mm). Dry matter contents differed significantly (P ≤ 0.05) among the varieties ranging from 20.81 % in Golden Purple to 25.77 % in Kenya Mpya. Crisps oil content varied significantly (P ≤ 0.05) from 31.28 % in Kenya Mpya to 36.8 % in Golden Purple while it ranged from 7.51 % to 8.81