Better Farming Series 44 - Processing of Cassava and Sweet Potatoes for Animal Feeding (FAO, 1995, 49 p.) Processing into dried chips (introduction...) Storage of dried chips

Better Farming Series 44 - Processing of Cassava and Sweet Potatoes for Animal Feeding (FAO, 1995, 49 p.)

Processing into dried chips

245. For long- term storage, sweet potato tubers must be preserved as dried chips. In China, the tubers are also preserved as silage.

246. You have already learned about making chips from cassava roots. The preparation of dried chips from sweet potato tubers is a similar process to making cassava chips.

247. In a way, it is easier to make sweet potato chips than cassava chips.

248. You don't have to remove the peel. You also don't have to worry about cyanide.

249. You must start processing the tubers within a day of harvest.

250. When you prepare sweet potato chips, the following steps must be followed.

251. Cleaning

The tubers must be cleaned first to remove soil and dirt.

252. Chopping

Tubers can be chopped manually or using a simple hand- operated chopper. You know that thin slices dry more quickly than thick slices.

253. Blanching

If you suspect that the tubers have high levels of trypsin inhibitor, you may have to follow an additional step. Dip the chips in boiling water for two minutes. This is called blanching.

254. Drying

The chips can be dried just like the cassava root chips.

255. You can prepare about 35 to 40 kg of dried chips from 100 kg of fresh sweet potato tubers.

Storage of dried chips

256. Dried chips can be stored in polyethelene bags, gunny sacks or bins. Polyethelene bags are better than sacks.

257. The bags must be stored on wooden pallets in dry, ventilated areas.

258. The storage area must be kept clean. It must be free from pests, especially from the sweet potato weevil.

259. If you have stored the chips properly, they can be kept for over six months.

260. Dried chips can also be milled and stored as a meal. Sweet potato tuber meal stores better than chips.

261. In this booklet, you have learned about the feed value and various aspects of the processing of cassava roots and sweet potato tubers. You now know how to make dried chips from them and how to store them for a long time. You have also learned about how to make silages from them.

262. In Booklet No. 46, you will learn about how you can use the processed cassava and sweet potato to feed various animals.