Backers hope Fast Baker turns into a hot potato

 By SCOTT A. YATES

Washington Staff Writer

 SPOKANE – Jeff Urbach wants to do for potatoes what bagged salads have done for lettuce in the produce section of America’s supermarkets.

 As general manager of Amstad Produce, based in Sherwood, Ore., Urbach is polishing the Fast Baker, a double-washed, individually wrapped Russet Norkotah. Grown on the family company’s farm outside Hermiston, the 9-to 12-ounce potatoes were recently promoted in Northwest Fred Meyer stores.

 Amstad Produce is not the first to turn commodity potatoes into a value added product such as the Fast Baker. Urbach saw a Colorado company doing it first. He liked the idea so much that within eight months he had the basic equipment purchased to package and promote the product.

 “I think this has the potential to do for potatoes what bagged salad did for the lettuce industry. That’s why we’re pursuing this,” he said. “We are trying to jump on the bandwagon and get potatoes in on that quick dinner fix.”

 The Fast Baker is the first product the company has available, but Urbach is even more excited about the potato trays poised to roll out next. More on them later.

 Referred to as a 70-count size within the industry (70 potatoes per 50 pounds), Fast Bakers get their first wash on their way into the storage shed. They’re washed a second time along a line that runs the potatoes through a spray of water accompanied by brushes.

 The potatoes are sorted for imperfections at the same time, with only visually perfect potatoes making the grade. After the final washing and selection, the potatoes go back into cold storage for about six hours to dry.

 From that point, the potatoes are put into individual wraps that look like small plastic pillows, then sealed. A quick pass through an oven shrinks the wrap onto the potato for a perfect fit.

 The wrap is “one of the keys to the whole deal,” Urbach said. Unlike other plastic wraps that have been found to have minute traces of carcinogens, the material that encloses Fast Bakers is FDA-approved.

 The covering not only helps cook the potato more quickly, it does not dehydrate as much in the process, leading to a better baked product. The plastic is not airtight, however. Tiny air holes also allow some of the heat and steam to escape during the microwaving process, frequently causing Fast Bakers to whistle while they cook.

 A lot of hand work is involved in the packing process, and it currently takes about five employees to run the Fast Bake line.

 “There is machinery that can do it, and once we have made sure there is a market, we may buy the machinery, but it is extremely expensive,” Urbach said.

 As a promotion, Amstad Produce supplied the potatoes at cost to Fred Meyer, and the store sold them as a loss leader at 5 for $1. A more-reasonable price would be 50 cents a potato, or about $25 a box.

 Richard Dougherty, food processing specialist at Washington State University, said the trend in produce today is to make it as convenient and safe as possible.

 Bagged salad is leading the charge, but he predicts cut fruit – most recently cut apples – will be hot on its heels.

 “We are going to see an unbelievable jump in their growth. They are going to go fast food,” he said.

 

Urbach said he hopes potatoes will get in on part of that growth. He’s particularly excited about the line his company is coming out with next: tray packs of 12 to 14 restaurant-quality (size B) red and yellow potatoes.

 Urbach believes Amstad is the first company with a microwaveable ready tray of potatoes, which can be baked and ready for butter and seasoning in less than nine minutes.

 “That was our goal. To come out with products you can make faster than pasta,” he said.

 Scott Yates is based in Spokane, Wash. His e-mail address is cpspokane@comcast.net.