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.