On Processing Potato: 1. Survey of the Ontology, History and Participating Actors

Abstract

Abstract The processing potato ontology includes the three domains of growers, processors and cooks producing tubers, products and dishes, respectively. Dishes consist of three subdomains: types of dishes prepared from products, kitchen operations and consumer preferences. Preparing meals with potato as ingredients dates from the time of the domestication of the crop in the Andes region. It involves washing, peeling, partitioning in smaller sections and heating to gelatinize the otherwise, for non-ruminants, indigestible starch. Since the Columbian Exchange, both the crop and processing expanded globally. The history of potato processing starts with the pre-historic pre-Columbian era when drying as a means to preserve and render the tuber less bulky and making flour and alcoholic drinks were common practice. Once the crop was a global food crop, processing established, initially into an array of nourishments for seafaring and military purposes and later for aviation, convenience and to satisfy hedonistic needs. The domains are studied through a four-tier analysis: first a description and delimitation of the domain are made, next allocation of classes with their attributes followed by awarding a value to an attribute as to the degree it applies to the class, yielding a heatmap, and fourthly, a dendrogram is produced that shows clustering of classes and of attributes with similar features.