EVALUATION OF THE TEXTURE OF FRIED POTATOES

Texture of potatoes with different shapes (slices and strips) were evaluated after frying and in some cases after baking. Blanched and unblanched potato slices (Bintje variety) were fried at four oil temperatures: 160, 170, 180 and 190C until reaching a moisture content of ∼1.7%. A puncture test with three point support for the slices was applied to measure the texture of potato chips using the following parameters extracted from the force versus distance curves: maximum force of break (MFB) and deformation of break (DB). These two parameters were useful to follow the changes in texture of the fried slices with moisture content at different frying temperatures. Blanched and unblanched potato strips were partially fried at 160C and 190C for 60, 90 and 120 s. The par-fried potatoes were frozen at -20C for one day after which they were baked at 200C for 15 min. The texture of the baked potato strips was evaluated using a bending test with two support points. From the force versus distance curves, two parameters were extracted: maximum force of deformation (MFD) and maximum deformation (MD). Significant higher MFB and lower DB values (P > 0.1) for unblanched fried slices indicate that these are crispier than blanched chips for moisture contents lower than 4% (6.59 N and 0.62 mm vs 5.74 N and vs 0.75 mm for unblanched and blanched chips, respectively, average values for the four frying temperatures employed). There was no effect of the frying temperature and the pretreatment (blanching or unblanching) on the texture of the frozen par-fried potatoes after baking when compared at the same residual moisture content, but blanched potato strips lost moisture more slowly both in frying and in baking.     

Kinetics of oil uptake during frying of potato slices:: Effect of pre-treatments

Oil uptake in fresh, blanched and, blanched and dried potato slices was studied during frying. Potato slices blanched in hot water (85 °C, 3.5 min) and potato slices blanched (85 °C, 3.5 min) and then dried until to a moisture content of ∼60 g/100 g (wet basis) were deep fried in sunflower oil at 120, 150 and 180 °C. A control treatment consisted of unblanched potato slices without the pre-drying treatment (fresh samples). It was studied applying two empirical kinetic models in order to fit the oil uptake during frying: (i) a first order model; (ii) a proposed model, with a linear time behavior for short times, while time independent for long times. Oil uptake was high even for short frying times at the different temperatures tested suggesting that oil wetting is an important mechanism of oil uptake during frying. For control slices, oil uptake increased approximately by 32% as the frying temperature decreased from 180 to 120 °C at moisture contents ?1 g water/g dry solid. No apparent effect of frying temperature in oil uptake was observed at moisture contents ?0.5 g water/g dry solid in fried slices previously blanched and dried. The two kinetic models studied fitted properly the values of oil uptake during frying, with similar correlation coefficient r².     

Color changes and acrylamide formation in fried potato slices

The objective of this work was to study the kinetics of browning during deep-fat frying of blanched and unblanched potato chips by using the dynamic method and to find a relationship between browning development and acrylamide formation. Prior to frying, potato slices were blanched in hot water at 85 °C for 3.5 min. Unblanched slices were used as the control. Control and blanched potato slices (Panda variety, diameter: 37 mm, width: 2.2 mm) were fried at 120, 150 and 180 °C until reaching moisture contents of ∼1.8% (total basis) and their acrylamide content and final color were measured. Color changes were recorded at different sampling times during frying at the three mentioned temperatures using the chromatic redness parameter a¹. Experimental data of surface temperature, moisture content and color change in potato chips during frying were fit to empirical relationships, with correlation coefficients greater than 90%. A first-order rate equation was used to model the kinetics of color change. In all cases, the Arrhenius activation energy decreases alongside with decreasing chip moisture content. Blanching reduced acrylamide formation in potato chips in ∼64% (average value) in comparison with control chips at the three oil temperatures tested. For the two pre-treatments studied, average acrylamide content increased ∼58 times as the frying temperature increased from 120 to 180 °C. There was a linear correlation between acrylamide content of potato chips and their color represented by the redness component a¹ in the range of the temperatures studied.     

Modeling water loss and oil uptake during vacuum frying of pre-treated potato slices

The objective of this research was to determine the kinetics of water loss and oil uptake during frying of pre-treated potato slices under vacuum and atmospheric pressure. Potato slices (diameter: 30 mm; width: 3 mm) were pre-treated in the following ways: (i) raw potato slices “control”; (ii) control slices were blanched in hot water at 85 °C for 3.5 min; (iii) blanched slices were dried in hot air until reaching a moisture content of ∼0.6 g water/g dry basis. The slices were fried under vacuum (5.37 kPa, absolute pressure, at 120, 130 and 140 °C) and atmospheric conditions (at 180 °C). Two models based on the Fick's law were used to describe water loss: (i) with a constant effective diffusive coefficient; and (ii) with a variable effective diffusive coefficient. Oil uptake data were fitted to an empirical model, with a linear behavior for short times whereas the model was time independent for long times. The variable diffusivity model better fitted experimental water loss, giving values of effective diffusivity between 4.73 × 10⁻⁹ and 1.80 × 10⁻⁸ m²/s. The proposed model for the study of the kinetics of oil uptake fitted the experimental data properly. Control and blanched vacuum fried potato chips increased their final oil contents to 57.1% and 75.4% respectively, when compared with those fried at atmospheric pressure. However, the oil absorption of dried vacuum fried potato chips diminished by ∼30%.     

Comparative study of physical and sensory properties of pre-treated potato slices during vacuum and atmospheric frying

The objective of this research was to study the effect of different processing conditions on physical and sensory properties of potato chips. Potato slices of Desirée and Panda varieties (diameter: 30 mm; thickness: 3 mm) were pre-treated in the following ways: (i) control or unblanched slices without pre-drying; (ii) blanched slices in hot water at 85 °C for 3.5 min and air-dried at 60 °C until a final moisture content of ∼0.6 kg water/kg dry solid; (iii) control slices soaked in a 3.5 kg/m³ sodium metabisulphite solution at 20 °C for 3 min and pH adjusted to 3. Pre-treated slices were fried at 120 and 140 °C under vacuum conditions (5.37 kPa, absolute pressure) and under atmospheric pressure until they reached a final moisture content of ∼1.8 kg water/100 kg (wet basis). An experimental design (3 × 2³) was used to analyze the effect of pre-treatment, potato variety, type of frying and frying temperature over the following responses: oil content, instrumental color and texture and sensory evaluation. Vacuum frying increased significantly (p < 0.05) oil content and decreased instrumental color and textural parameters. Sensory attributes, flavor quality and overall quality, were significantly improved using vacuum frying. The higher frying temperature (140 °C) increased ΔE, maximum breaking force, hardness and crispness and decreased L^* and b^* values. On the other hand, Panda potato variety improved the color of the product. A great improvement on color parameters was obtained using sulphited potato slices instead of the other pre-treatments. Although, the better flavor was obtained for control potato chips, no significant differences were found for overall quality between control and sulphited potato chips. Significant correlations (p < 0.01) between sensory and instrumental responses were found.     

Reduction of acrylamide formation in potato slices during frying

Reduction of acrylamide formation in potato chips was investigated in relation to frying temperature and three treatments before frying. Potato slices (Tivoli variety, diameter: 37 mm, width: 2.2 mm) were fried at 150°C, 170°C and 190°C until reaching moisture contents of ∼1.7 g water/100 g (total basis). Prior to frying, potato slices were treated in one of the following ways: (i) soaked in distilled water for 0 min (control), 40 min and 90 min; (ii) blanched in hot water at six different time-temperature combinations (50°C for 30 and 70 min; 70°C for 8 and 40 min; 90°C for 2 and 9 min); (iii) immersed in citric acid solutions of different concentrations (10 and 20 g/l) for half an hour. Glucose and asparagine concentration was determined in potato slices before frying, whereas acrylamide content was determined in the resultant fried potato chips. Glucose content decreased in ∼32% in potato slices soaked 90 min in distilled water. Soaked slices showed on average a reduction of acrylamide formation of 27%, 38% and 20% at 150°C, 170°C and 190°C, respectively, when they were compared against the control. Blanching reduced on average 76% and 68% of the glucose and asparagine content compared to the control. Potato slices blanched at 50°C for 70 min surprisingly had a very low acrylamide content (28 μm/kg) even when they were fried at 190°C. Potato immersion in citric acid solutions of 10 and 20 g/l reduced acrylamide formation by almost 70% for slices fried at 150°C. For the three pre-treatments studied, acrylamide formation increased dramatically as the frying temperature increased from 150°C to 190°C.     

Effects of processing conditions on the quality of vacuum‐fried carrot chips

The effects of pretreatment and vacuum frying conditions on the quality of fried carrot chips were studied. The moisture and oil contents of fried carrot chips were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced when blanched carrot slices were pretreated by immersion in fructose solution and freezing prior to vacuum frying. Furthermore, more uniform porosity was observed on the vertical cross‐section of carrot chips when examined by scanning electron microscopy. During vacuum frying, the moisture content, colour and breaking force of carrot chips decreased while the oil content increased with increasing frying temperature and time. However, there was no apparent change in Hunter ΔE with time when the frying temperature was below 100 °C and the frying time was below 25 min. Results of this study suggest that vacuum frying at moderate temperature (90–100 °C) for 20 min can produce carrot chips with lower moisture and oil contents as well as good colour and crispy texture. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Acrylamide Mitigation in Potato Chips by Using NaCl

In April 2002, Swedish researchers shocked the world when they presented preliminary findings on the presence of acrylamide in fried and baked foods, most notably potato chips and French fries, at levels of 30–2,300 ppb. The objective of this research was to study the effect of immersing potato slices in a NaCl solution over the acrylamide formation in the resultant potato chips. Potato slices (Verdi variety, diameter 40 mm, width 2.0 mm) were fried at 170 °C for 5 min (final moisture content of ∼2.0%). Prior to frying, the potato slices were treated in one of the following ways: (1) control slices (unblanched or raw potato slices); (2) slices blanched at 90 °C for 5 min in water; (3) slices blanched at 90 °C for 5 min plus immersed in a 1 g/100 g NaCl solution at 25 °C for 5 min; (4) slices blanched at 90 °C for 5 min plus immersed in a 3 g/100 g NaCl solution at 25 °C for 5 min; (5) slices blanched at 90 °C for 5 min plus immersed in distilled water at 25 °C for 5 min; and (6) slices blanched at 90 °C for 5 min in a 3 g/100 g NaCl solution. Blanching followed by the immersion of potato slices in 1 g/100 g NaCl solution was effective in reducing acrylamide content in ∼62%; however, almost half of this percentage (∼27%) could be attributed to the effect of NaCl and 35% to the effect of the slight heating treatment during salt immersion step (25 °C for 5 min). Blanching seems to make the NaCl diffusion in potato tissue easier leading to a significant acrylamide reduction in the potato slices after frying.     

LIMPNESS OF FRIED POTATO SLABS DURING POST-FRYING PERIOD

The rupture stress (RS) of fried potato slices (1.60 mm thick) and of the crust of fried potato slabs (FPS) having lengths of 60 mm and sides of 8, 10 and 12 mm, was determined during the post‐frying period by a puncture test. The RS of fried potato slices decreased as water activity increased from 0.22 to 0.85. The RS of FPS diminished in the first 5–6 min when exposed to ambient conditions and remained almost constant thereafter. A novel videotape technique and image analysis were used to follow deflection of FPS in the post‐frying period. An apparent modulus based on the composite structure of FPS and calculated from beam mechanics decreased with time in a trend similar to that of the textural parameters. We concluded that changes in physical properties of the crust because of moisture accumulation are the major causes of loss of texture (limpness) in FPS during the post‐frying period.     

Effects of processing conditions on the quality of vacuum fried apple chips

The effects of pretreatment and processing conditions on the quality of vacuum fried apple chips were studied. As blanched apple slices were pretreated by immersing in fructose solution and freezing prior to vacuum frying, more uniform porosity was observed on the surface (or cross-section) of apple chips as examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). During vacuum frying, the moisture content and breaking force of apple chips decreased with increasing frying temperature and time while the oil content increased. The L values of fried apple chips decreased apparently with increasing frying temperature. However, when apple slices were fried at 100°C for up to 20 min, both a and b values increased rapidly. Statistical analysis with the central composite rotatable design showed that the moisture content, oil content, color, and breaking force of apple chips were significantly (P⩽0.05) correlated with concentration of immersing sugar solution, frying temperature and frying time. Based on surface responses and contour plots, optimum conditions were: vacuum frying temperature of 100–110°C, vacuum frying time of 20–25 min, and immersing fructose concentration of 30–40%.     

The influence of oil type and frying temperatures on the texture and oil content of French fries

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of the frying medium and temperatures on fat content and texture of French fries. The material taken for the study consisted of seven types of vegetable oil: refined sunflower, rape, soy, olive oil, palm, partially hydrogenated rape oil (modified oil I) and a blend of vegetable oils (modified oil II). The French fries prepared from Asterix potato variety were fried at oils heated to 150, 160, 170, 180 and 190 °C. The length of frying (12, 10, 8, 6.5 and 4.5 min, respectively) depended on oil temperature. Fat content and the texture of French fries were determined. The type of frying medium significantly affects the texture of French fries. Temperature influenced both the fat content and texture of product. The increase of frying temperature decreased fat uptake and hardness of French fries. French fries fried in rape oil exhibited the most delicate texture and the lowest oil absorption when compared with French fries fried in other types of oil under investigation. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Application of Vacuum Frying as a Furan and Acrylamide Mitigation Technology in Potato Chips

Consumers like fried snacks, and taste, color, and texture are key aspects in their preference. However, during frying of foods some toxic compounds, such as furan and acrylamide, are produced. The objective of this work was to mitigate furan and acrylamide formation in potato chips, without affecting their main quality attributes, by using vacuum frying. To accomplish this purpose, potato slices were fried at atmospheric (P _abs 29.92 inHg) and vacuum conditions (P _abs 3.00 inHg), using equivalent thermal driving forces (T _{water boiling point} ? T _oil = 50, 60, or 70 °C). Furan and acrylamide concentration, oil content, and texture of both atmospheric and vacuum-fried samples were determined. Vacuum-fried potato chips showed reductions of about 81, 58, and 28% of furan, acrylamide, and oil content, respectively, when compared to their atmospheric counterparts. Additionally, the texture was not affected (p > 0.05) by changes in the pressure during frying. Results clearly showed that vacuum frying is an effective technology for furan and acrylamide mitigation in potato chips, since it reduces the content of both contaminants and preserves the quality attributes of fried snacks.     

稻米油调和油煎炸应用研究

通过与棕榈油对比180℃下炸制薯片以及评估薯片感官喜好度、质构、口感及粘牙性等差异来评价稻米油调和油的煎炸应用性能。结果表明:采用稻米油调和油煎炸的薯片中多不饱和脂肪酸含量显著高于棕榈油(P<0.05),且其薯片的整体感官喜好度、质构口感、酥脆度、粘牙喜好度,均显著优于棕榈油薯片(P<0.05)。在加速氧化条件下,采用稻米油调和油炸制的薯片的酸价、过氧化值均与棕榈油炸制的薯片无显著性差异(P>0.05),且远低于GB 16565-2003的规定。在加速存储过程中,谷维素却得到了很好的保留。总之,稻米油调和油具有良好的煎炸性能。     

Minimum Cooking Time for Potato Strip Frying

The maximum force for shearing was used as texture parameter for raw and cooked potato strips. The force was satisfactorily correlated with the cook value C (equivalent cooking time at 100°C) showing complete cooking for C ≥ 300 sec. Thermal histories measured at the center of strips fried under different oil temperatures suggested the heat and mass transfer mechanisms involved in the frying process and allowed the calculation of the minimum frying time to assure cooking at the strip center. This time was independent of the oil temperature and slightly dependent on the strip size.     

Vacuum frying of high-quality fruit and vegetable-based snacks

Sweet potato, green beans, Tommy Atkins mango, and blue potato were fried in a vacuum frying process at a temperature of 120-130 ± 1°C. Before frying, green beans and mango slices were soaked in a 50% maltodextrine 0.15% citric acid solution. The products were also fried in a traditional (atmospheric pressure) fryer at 160-165 ± 1°C for 4 min. A 30-member consumer panel rated the sensory quality of both types of fried snacks using a 1-9 hedonic scale. Compared with traditional frying, oil content of vacuum-fried sweet-potato chips and green beans was 24% and 16% lower, respectively. Blue potato and mango chips had 6% and 5% more oil, respectively, than the traditional-fried samples. Anthocyanin (mg/100 g d.b.) of vacuum-fried blue potato chips was 60% higher. Final total carotenoids (mg/g d.b.) were higher by 18% for green beans, 19% for mango chips, and by 51% for sweet-potato chips. Sensory panelists overwhelmingly preferred (p < 0.05) the vacuum-fried products for color, texture, taste, and overall quality. Most of the products retained or accentuated their original colors when fried under vacuum. The traditional-fried products showed excessive darkening and scorching. These results support the applicability of vacuum frying technology to provide high-quality fruit and vegetable snacks.     

Effect of Osmotic Dehydration and Vacuum-Frying Parameters to Produce High-Quality Mango Chips

ABSTRACT:  Mango ( Mangifera indica  L.) is a fruit rich in flavor and nutritional values, which is an excellent candidate for producing chips. The objective of this study was to develop high-quality mango chips using vacuum frying. Mango (" Tommy Atkins ") slices were pretreated with different maltodextrin concentrations (40, 50, and 65, w/v), osmotic dehydration times (45, 60, and 70 min), and solution temperatures (22 and 40 °C). Pretreated slices were vacuum fried at 120, 130, and 138 °C and product quality attributes (oil content, texture, color, carotenoid content) determined. The effect of frying temperatures at optimum osmotic dehydration times (65 [w/v] at 40 °C) was assessed. All samples were acceptable (scores > 5) to consumer panelists. The best mango chips were those pretreated with 65 (w/v) concentration for 60 min and vacuum fried at 120 °C. Mango chips under atmospheric frying had less carotenoid retention (32%) than those under vacuum frying (up to 65%). These results may help further optimize vacuum-frying processing of high-quality fruit-based snacks.     

Technological evaluation of new cultivars for potato chips manufacturing

Potato tubers of cvs. Condor, Diamont, Baraka, Mondial and Draga were used to produce chips of 1.0 mm slice thickness using an industrial slicer. Half of the slices quantity was immediately blanched in water at 100°C for approximately 5 min. Frying was carried out at 165–170°C in cotton seed oil. Both cvs. Diamont and Condor were the best varieties in the nutritional composition, since they contained the highest content of total solids (24.2 and 22.8%), crude protein (10.9 and 10.2%), total free amino acids (270 and 246 μmol/g DM), ascorbic acid (1.5 and 1.4 mg/100 g DM) and digested protein (49.8 and 49.6% for pepsin enzyme as well as 76.0 and 78.3% for trypsin enzyme). In contrast, they contained the lowest level of reducing sugars i.e. 0.8 and 0.9%, respectively. The same both varieties produced the maximum final yield of chips from both unblanched and blanched slices (50.0 and 47.4% as well as 48.9 and 45.8%, respectively) with the lowest final oil content i.e. <42%. Slightly differences in the final moisture content of chips were noticed. Blanching before frying led to a decrease in the final oil content of chips produced from all potato varieties. Sensory evaluation of the produced chips revealed that the favourable chips with the best quality attributes i.e. lighter and uniform in colour, lower final oil content, natural odour, more crisp and better in taste can be produced by using slices from cvs. Condor and Diamont. Furthermore, blanching before frying reduced significantly the oil content of chips and improved both colour and texture (more crispness) of the produced chips.     

Vacuum frying as a route to produce novel snacks with desired quality attributes according to new health trends

Consumers look for products that contribute to their wellness and health, however, even health-conscious consumers are not willing to sacrifice organoleptic properties, and intense full-flavor snacks remain an important trend. The objective of this study was to examine most important quality parameters of vacuum (1.92 inHg) and atmospheric-fried carrot, potato, and apple slices to determine specific advantages of vacuum technology. Slices were fried using equivalent thermal driving forces, maintaining a constant difference between oil temperature and the boiling point of water at the working pressure (ΔT = 60 and 80 °C). This resulted in frying temperatures of 160 and 180 °C, and 98 and 118 °C, for atmospheric and vacuum frying, respectively. Vacuum-fried carrot and potato chips absorbed about 50% less oil than atmospheric-fried chips, whereas vacuum-fried apple chips reduced oil absorption by 25%. Total carotenoids and ascorbic acid (AA) were greatly preserved during vacuum frying. Carrot chips vacuum fried at 98 °C retained about 90% of total carotenoids, whereas potato and apple slices vacuum fried at 98 °C, preserved around 95% of their initial AA content. Interestingly, results showed that the antioxidant capacity of chips may be related to both the presence of natural antioxidants and brown pigments developed at elevated temperatures. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: A way to reduce detrimental effects of deep-fat frying is through operating-pressure reduction, the essence behind vacuum deep-fat frying. In this way, it is possible to remove product moisture at a low temperature in a low-oxygen environment. The objective of this research was to study the effect of oil temperature reduction when vacuum frying traditional (potatoes) and nontraditional products (carrots and apples) on most important quality attributes (vitamins, color, and oil uptake). Results are promising and show that vacuum frying can be an alternative to produce nutritious and novel snacks with desired quality attributes, since vitamins and color were greatly preserved and oil absorption could be substantially reduced.     

Comparison of vacuum and atmospheric deep-fat frying of wheat starch and gluten based snacks

Vacuum frying was compared with atmospheric frying in the development of wheat starch and gluten based snacks in terms of oil uptake, texture, expansion, and color development. The comparison was based on the concept of equivalent thermal driving force (ETDF) (i.e., keeping a constant difference between the oil temperature and boiling point of water at the working pressure). Vacuum fried snacks were observed to absorb lower oil content at all ETDFs and as low as 27% less of atmospherically fried samples and lighter in color. A very strong relationship existed between texture and oil content on one hand; and expansion and oil content on the other hand for fried matrices from both technologies. SEM was used in validating the result. Vacuum frying can be used for the development of acceptable fabricated fried snacks from wheat starch and gluten with lower oil content and acceptable textural and color properties.

     

Optimisation of vacuum frying of gold kiwifruit slices: application of response surface methodology

Response surface methodology was used to investigate the effects of the level of maltodextrin (MD), frying temperature and time on the moisture, colour and texture properties of the vacuum‐fried gold kiwifruit slices and to determine the optimised conditions for vacuum frying. The moisture content of vacuum‐fried gold kiwifruit slices decreased with increasing frying temperature and frying time. The colour change of the product increased with increasing frying temperature. The browning index of the product increased with increasing frying temperature and frying time. The breaking force of the product gave higher values when processed at middle range of frying temperature and MD level. When processing vacuum‐fried gold kiwifruit slices, there was a need to use frying temperatures of 72.0–76.3 °C, frying times of 35.0–65.0 min and an MD level of 40% to achieve products with acceptable moisture, colour and texture properties.