The raw, table-quality potato has been largely pushed out of the market, even though it is an extremely valuable foodstuff.
Despite the production of high-quality potatoes, consumers have not yet developed a clear awareness of different varieties. For a long time, consumers considered only the two terms "waxy" and "floury," which refer solely to cooking qualities, to be the only quality parameters when purchasing potatoes. However, variety names are much more informative regarding the culinary uses of potatoes. Therefore, it is crucial to focus marketing efforts on raising awareness of variety quality, as this significantly benefits both producers and consumers.
When defining quality, the assessment of culinary value is an important criterion, currently carried out within the framework of the official variety evaluations by the BFL (Federal Office for Agriculture) and the BAL (Federal Office for Agriculture). In addition to other essential parameters, organoleptic testing makes a significant contribution to quality assessment. However, this is currently conducted purely sensorially and is therefore only reproducible to a certain extent. This raises the question of how to objectify sensory testing through various chemical-analytical test methods and the investigation of various taste-influencing ingredients.
