MODELING WATER LOSS DURING FRYING OF POTATO STRIPS: EFFECT OF SOLUTE IMPREGNATION

ABSTRACT

The effect of solute impregnation on water loss and oil uptake during potato strip frying was studied. Blanched potato strips were impregnated at 25°C by soaking in a solution of sucrose–NaCl–water, 20–5–75% by weight. After rinsing and air drying, strips were deep fried in sunflower oil at 160, 170 and 180°C. A control treatment, consisting of potato strips blanched but not soaked and later air dried was also conducted. Solute impregnation provided a decrease of the oil uptake. Two models, based on Fick's law were used to describe water loss during frying. The first one is the classic model with an effective moisture diffusion coefficient assumed a constant value. The second model considers that diffusion coefficient varies during the frying process. For a given frying temperature, constant diffusion coefficient for control potatoes resulted in lower values than the impregnated ones. The variable diffusivity model showed a two-stage behavior: during the first stage of frying, diffusion coefficient increased with frying temperatures, but from a given time on an inverse behavior began. This last fact was found to be related to an increase of the measured peak force needed to penetrate the potato crust.     

DEEP FAT FRYING OF POTATO STRIPS—QUALITY ISSUES

Moisture loss and oil adsorption kinetics, structural properties (apparent density, true density, specific volume and internal porosity), color changes and viscoelastic behavior (compression tests, crispness) were investigated during deep fat frying of french fries. The effect of frying conditions (oil temperature, sample thickness and oil type), drying pretreatment and osmotic dehydration pretreatment on the above properties was also examined. The results showed that oil temperature and thickness of potato strips have a significant effect on oil uptake, moisture loss and color parameters of french fries, while the use of hydrogenated oil in the frying medium does not affect these properties. The porosity of french fries increases with oil temperature increases and sample thickness and it is higher for products fried with hydrogenated oil. Maximum stress and maximum strain increase during frying, while crispness of potato strips is higher for hydrogenated oil, and lower for refined oil. Air drying and osmotic pretreatment increase porosity of fried potatoes but decrease their oil and moisture content. A negative effect on color development with drying time was also observed. Pre-fry drying as well as osmotic pre-treatment increases the maximum stress and maximum strain of french fries during frying. Air drying pre-treatment increases the crispness of potato strips while osmotic pre-treatment does not affect it, with the exception of sugar solutions.     

DEEP FAT FRYING OF POTATO STRIPS—QUALITY ISSUES

Moisture loss and oil adsorption kinetics, structural properties (apparent density, true density, specific volume and internal porosity), color changes and viscoelastic behavior (compression tests, crispness) were investigated during deep fat frying of french fries. The effect of frying conditions (oil temperature, sample thickness and oil type), drying pretreatment and osmotic dehydration pretreatment on the above properties was also examined. The results showed that oil temperature and thickness of potato strips have a significant effect on oil uptake, moisture loss and color parameters of french fries, while the use of hydrogenated oil in the frying medium does not affect these properties. The porosity of french fries increases with oil temperature increases and sample thickness and it is higher for products fried with hydrogenated oil. Maximum stress and maximum strain increase during frying, while crispness of potato strips is higher for hydrogenated oil, and lower for refined oil. Air drying and osmotic pretreatment increase porosity of fried potatoes but decrease their oil and moisture content. A negative effect on color development with drying time was also observed. Pre-fry drying as well as osmotic pre-treatment increases the maximum stress and maximum strain of french fries during frying. Air drying pre-treatment increases the crispness of potato strips while osmotic pre-treatment does not affect it, with the exception of sugar solutions.     

STUDIES ON FRYING KINETICS AND QUALITY OF FRENCH FRIES

Effects of temperature of oil (160, 170 and 180° C) and duration of pre-drying (0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 h) on the kinetics of moisture removal and oil uptake, and quality of French fries were studied. Frying times at each combination of temperature and pre-drying duration were standardized on the basis of sensory characteristics of the product in the preliminary trials. Results indicated that the rate of both moisture loss and oil uptake were higher in the beginning followed by a decrease in the later stages of frying. Mathematical models were developed to describe both the moisture removal and oil uptake by French fries. French fries prepared from potato fingers blanched in water for 4 min at 85° C and fried (without pre-drying) at 180° C were judged to be the most acceptable.     

Relationship Between Oil Uptake and Water Content During Deep-Fat Frying of Potato Particulates Under Isothermal Temperature

The purpose of this study is to correlate water content and oil uptake with the structural changes of potato particulates during deep-fat frying. Raw potato particulates were sliced to form cylinders of 0.006 m diameter × 0.006 m length and subjected to deep-fat frying at isothermal oil temperatures of 160, 190 and 220 °C. The microstructure properties were assessed using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). Previous results showed that a simultaneous two first-order kinetic model adequately predicted water loss of potato particulates during isothermal frying. In this study, a simple rational model with two parameters in which regression squared (Rsqr) reaches 0.983 shows that oil uptake can be expressed by water content. The cross-sectional structure of potato particulates observed using FESEM is different from the surface structure. Regardless of the frying temperature, pores not only become larger but also increase in number after the transition time. The observations of structural changes at the surface and inner section of potato particulates through the pictures of FESEM are critical. This physical evidence supports our previous assumption that the mechanisms of water loss (two-stage rate processes) before and after transition time are different.     

Heat and Mass Transfer in Fry Drying of Wood

This article describes the coupled heat and mass (water, oil) transport phenomena in parallelepiped samples of beech (Fagus sylvatica) fried in peanut oil between 120 and 180°C. The aim was to evaluate the suitability of simultaneous fry drying and oil impregnation as an alternative wood treatment process. Water loss and oil impregnation were continuously assessed during the process. Temperature and pressure were measured at the center of the sample. The water in the peripheral layers of the wood vaporizes at atmospheric pressure. The water at the center of the wood vaporizes at overpressures of the order of 2.8 × 10⁵ Pa. High fluxes of water were recorded of about 0.006 kg/(m²s). The impregnated oil can amount to 20% of the mass of the removed water.     

Functionality of Coatings with Salep and Basil Seed Gum for Deep Fried Potato Strips

We investigate the efficiency of using a coating made from novel hydrocolloid basil seed gum (BSG), salep, and a mixed solution of BSG and salep as well as oil origin (canola or palm olein) to reduce oil absorption in deep‐fried potato strips. We also evaluate the coating pick up, its effect on moisture content, frying yield value of fried potatoes and flow behavior of the coating suspensions. Flow curves show that all the studied suspensions are pseudoplastic and have shear thinning characteristics. The most effective coating formulations were 0.5 % BSG and 1.5 % salep. For these formulations, maximum oil uptake reduction was 28.8 and 28.7 % for potato strips compared to uncoated samples; the increase in moisture content was 29.1 and 17.5 %, respectively. Furthermore, the increase in moisture content resulted in an increase in frying yield up to 16.62 % for 0.5 % BSG. The oil type significantly (p < 0.05) influenced oil uptake.     

高温油炸薄薯片过程中油的吸收和水分流失间的特性关系

Thin potato crisps (2mm) were fried at 170℃, 180℃ and 190℃ for various times from 10s to 180s inclusive. It was found that definite oil uptake, moisture loss trends exist during the frying process. No significant difference in the oil uptake or moisture loss rates between flat-cut and ridge-cut crisps exists. Also found in this study was that an increased oil temperature promoted higher moisture loss rates. In turn, the higher moisture loss rates contributed to a higher oil uptake rate. It was found, based on the volumetric plots of oil content vs. water content, that the oil uptake rate was proportional to the moisture loss rate. As a result, it has been shown that there is a possibility of having a characteristic curve of oil uptake against moisture content.     

Frying of Potatoes: Physical,Chemical, and Microstructural Changes

Frying is one of the oldest unit operations and is used not only in industry but also at home. The most commonly fried vegetable is potato, for important commercial products such as potato chips, par-fried potatoes, and french fries. Quality parameters of interest for fried potatoes include physical and chemical properties such as color, mechanical properties (e.g., crispness, hardness, etc.), structural properties (e.g., porosity and roughness), oil content, and water content, among others. Some chemical contaminants such as acrylamide and furan are heat-generated during the frying of potato slices or strips, leading to final fried pieces with considerable amounts of these contaminants. The controllable variables in industrial frying processes are generally potato variety, oil type, frying time, and frying temperature. Therefore, the study of the quality changes during frying is critical because knowledge regarding kinetics parameters will enable prediction of the final quality in fried potatoes and improvements in the final product value by selecting properly the processing conditions. Finally, modern techniques such as computer vision provide valuable tools to quantify and predict physical and chemical properties of potato pieces during frying in a fast and noninvasive way. In addition, computer vision can allow us to classify fried potatoes in different quality classes previously determined by sensorial panels.     

Dimensionless Formulation of Convective Heat Transfer in Fry‐Drying of Sewage Sludge

Fry‐drying is an alternative for heat and mass transfer intensification. The process reuses waste oil as a heating medium for drying by contact with the wet sludge. At the end of the process, a stable derived fuel is obtained, a granular solid composed of the dried indigenous sewage solid and the impregnated oil. The fry‐dried sludge is storable and transportable without any pathogen elements. Knowledge about heat and mass transfer rates during the frying process is essential in order to assess the quality of the final product such as calorific value, oil uptake, porosity changes, etc. The heat transfer properties including transfer by free convection between the solid and the frying oil are fundamental for the process design and manufacturing of the fry‐dried product. The convective heat coefficient by temperature measurement and overall energy balance calculation is determined. The heat flux is calculated from the fry‐drying kinetics including moisture loss and oil intake kinetics. Various hydrodynamic regimes for convective heat transfer during the frying process are discussed (non‐boiling, boiling, and low‐boiling regime). A dimensionless formulation for estimating the convective transfer is proposed.     

Penetration of concrete with various linseed oil/mineral spirits mixtures

Field impregnation techniques were simulated in the laboratory using concrete cylinders (different water:cement ratios) dried either in a forced air oven or with a gas-fired infrared heater after which they were impregnated (by ponding) with different linseed oil/mineral spirits mixtures. Mass uptake was obtained for impregnation with various mineral spirits concentrations and impregnation temperatures. Generally as the water:cement ratio, impregnation temperature, and mineral spirits concentration increase, the final mass uptake (or rate of mass uptake) and penetration depth also increase. Further, the infrared dried specimens displayed a deeper final penetration depth than the ovendried specimens. Regression analysis produced equations that predict the final penetration depth in the concrete as a function of percent mineral spirits in the linseed oil mixture.     

Effect of Microwave-Assisted Vacuum Frying on the Quality of Potato Chips

We investigated the applicability of microwave-assisted vacuum frying in producing potato chips. Three microwave power levels (600, 800, 1000 W) were used for frying times of up to 360 s. The moisture loss and oil uptake histories were measured as a function of the microwave power levels. The textural crispness (breaking force) and color parameters (lightness, redness, and yellowness) were also measured as a function of microwave power levels and frying time. The application of microwave-assisted vacuum frying significantly increased the moisture evaporation and oil uptake rates in potato chips. At the same time, the amount of oil uptake was similar to that in vacuum-fried chips not assisted by microwave. The chips produced using microwave-assisted vacuum frying were crispier (lower breaking force), visually appealing, and could be produced in a shorter time.     

EFFECTS OF VARIOUS TREATMENTS ON THE DRYING KINETICS OF Muscatel GRAPES

The drying kinetics of Muscatel grapes at 60°C and a relative air humidity of 22% were determined after various pretreatments had been applied to the grapes. The pretreatment parameters varied were the chemical agent (potassium carbonate solution with or without olive oil, or sodium hydroxide solution); the duration of pretreatment; and the temperature and concentration of the solution. A 3 minute pretreatment with an aqueous solution of K₂CO₃ and olive oil at 60°C reduced drying time from about 80 h to 20 h. Optimal drying load corresponded to a single layer of almost close-packed grapes on each tray. The experimental drying kinetics were satisfactorily reproduced by a model in which both grape size and the effective coefficient of diffusion are functions of moisture content.     

The interaction of water with an epoxide adhesive based on the diglycidylether of bisphenol-A and triethylene tetramine

The adhesive made by curing the diglycidylether of bisphenol-A and triethylenetetramine demonstrates Fickian uptake from liquid water at temperatures between 4°C and 85°C. Uptake from water vapour at 50°C shows that the diffusion coefficient decreases slightly with concentration. The vapour uptake equilibria are examined using the Zimm clustering theory and the Flory-Huggins lattice model and these support the view that the water absorbed by the adhesive forms clusters.     

MASS TRANSFER AND DIFFUSION COEFFICIENT DETERMINATION IN THE WET AND DRY SALTING OF MEAT

Dehydrated salted meat is widely used in Brazil as a very important source of animal protein. The main objective of this kind of processing is water removal. initially by osmotic pressure changes and then by drying, resulting in a product with intermediate moisture levels.

In this work, mass transfer and salt diffusion in pieces of meat submitted to wet and dry salting were studied. Slabs of beef m. trapezius with an infinite plate geometry were salted in a NaCl saturated solution or in a dry salt bed, at two temperatures (10 and 20°C) and different time exposures (120 min and 96 hours). Equilibration studies were extended up to six days.

It was observed that water loss increased with salt uptake, for increasing periods of times. At 20°C the moisture loss was higher than it was at 10°C in both salting processes. On the other hand, the kinetics of salt uptake and moisture loss were of greater importance in the process of dry salting than in that of wet salting.

The salt diffusion coefficient for wet salting was 0.26 × 10^-10m²/s at20°C and 0.25 × 10^-10 m²/s at 10°C and for the dry salting the values were 19.37 × 10^-10 m²/s at 20°C and 17.21 × 10^-10 m²/s at 10°C.     

An Improved,Easily Implementable,Porous Media Based Model for Deep-Fat Frying: Part II: Results,Validation and Sensitivity Analysis

The multiphase porous media model, developed in the companion paper, has been applied to frying of a restructured potato slice to obtain temperature, pressure, moisture, oil content, acrylamide content and evaporation rate profiles, providing valuable insight into the frying process. The model is validated by comparing temperature, moisture content and crust thickness profiles from literature experimental results. A novel non-equilibrium formulation, different from the existing food literature, is able to describe well the evaporation process. Post-frying cooling is included through appropriate changes in boundary conditions. It is seen that the oil pickup mostly takes place during post-frying cooling and is due to capillary suction created by the negative pressures from condensation of water–vapour. Acrylamide is formed primarily in the crust region where temperature exceeds 100°C. Sensitivity analyses of the process to surface mass transfer coefficient, evaporation rate constant and oil diffusivity show that they all have significant effects on the process. Development of this mechanistic model that is also more easily implementable than previous models should make computer-aided design and optimization of frying processes closer to reality.     

Antioxidative effect of olive oil deodorizer distillate on frying oil and quality of potato chips

The antioxidative effect of unsaponifiable matter from olive oil deodorizer distillate on the stability of sunflower oil during frying and on the quality of potato chips were studied. Physical and chemical characteristics of sunflower oil samples with or without different concentrations of unsaponifiable matter were examined during frying at 180°C for ten consecutive days. The addition of 1% of unsaponifiable matter to sunflower oil showed the highest effect in retarding the oxidation deterioration of oil during frying of potato chips. This protective effect was attributed to high levels of squalene, Δ-avenasterol, and tocopherols. During ten frying days, the amount of squalene decreased to 79% and both tocopherols and Δ-avenasterol to 69% in frying sunflower oil. Oil absorbed by potato chips and the characteristics of the oil extracted from potato chips before and after three months of storage were determined. The amount of oil absorbed by potato chips ranged from 37.3 to 39.3% during frying. The unsaponifiable fractions remaining in the frying medium showed protective effects on the rate of oxidation of the oil extracted from potato chips. The uptake of unsaponifiable matter by chips was the highest during the first frying day. Chips with high amounts of squalene, tocopherols, and sterols showed highest antioxidative stability during storage for three months at ambient temperature. Potato chips fried in sunflower oil treated with 1% unsaponifiable matter showed a bright yellow colour, moderate crispness, high score flavour, and were well accepted by panelists. These data of sensory evaluation supported the results of chemical analyses of oil extracted from fresh and stored chips.     

Estimation of the Effect of Shape and Temperature on Drying Kinetics Using MLP

The kinetics of drying is described in the article using artificial neural networks (multilayer perceptron MLP). Drying curves for vegetables are possible to obtain theoretically on the basis of the equations of mass transfer in a porous material. A key role in these equations is played by the effective coefficient of water diffusion in the form of liquid, vapor or jointly as liquid and vapor. The diffusion coefficient which depends both on moisture content in the material and temperature should be determined experimentally. The drying kinetic curve in this article is treated as a time series dependent on the state of material prior to drying and on the constant K characterizing process parameters such as drying temperature and describing the material, e.g., its shape and moisture content. Constant K characterizes the analyzed material from the drying point of view because it contains a diffusion coefficient and depends on the shape of material. The following materials were analyzed: beetroot and potato dried in the form of cubes, slices, chips, and strips. Experiments were carried out in a laboratory oven dryer at process temperature 50, 60, 70, 90, and 106°C.     

Effect of Vacuum-Microwave Predrying on Quality of Vacuum-Fried Potato Chips

The effects of vacuum microwave predrying on the quality of vacuum-fried potato chips were studied. The results showed that vacuum microwave predrying had a significant effect on moisture and oil contents, as well as color parameters and structure of potato chips. Vacuum microwave predrying significantly decreased the oil and moisture contents of vacuum-fried potato chips. The rates of both mass transfer phenomena (water loss and oil uptake) that take place during the vacuum frying of potato chips decrease due to the vacuum microwave predrying. The vacuum microwave predrying had a negative effect on color of potato chips, which decreases the L value of potato chips and increases Hunter a and b values. Breaking force of fried potato chips is also significantly (P < 0.05) affected by the drying pretreatment, which decreases the breaking force at the beginning of predrying and then increases with vacuum microwave predrying time.     

EVAPORATION FROM POROUS MEDIA: A CAPILLARY MODEL OF A PENETRATING FRONT

A capillary tube model was solved to investigate the influence of mass transfer coefficient, temperature, and front depth on the evaporation rate during the penetrating-front period of water-filled porous media dried in hot air. The results show that increasing the flow rate of the drying air is not so efficient as increasing the sample temperature. Due to attenuating diffusion rate, the rate of liquid front migration decreases with time. The calculations explain the falling rate period behavior of sandstone heated at 121°C. Trends depicted by the model may be useful for the design of heating conditions for drying processes.