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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Healthy Processed Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #345809
Research Project: New Sustainable Processing Technologies to Produce Healthy, Value-Added Foods from Specialty Crops

Location: Healthy Processed Foods Research

Title: Effects of infrared blanching and dehydrating pretreatment on oil content of fried potato chips

Author
item WU, BENGANG - Jiangsu University
item WANG, JUAN - Jiangsu University
item GUO, YITING - Jiangsu University
item Pan, Zhongli
item MA, HAILE - Jiangsu University

Submitted to: Journal of Food Processing and Preservation
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/20/2017
Publication Date: 6/10/2018
Citation: Wu, B., Wang, J., Guo, Y., Pan, Z., Ma, H. 2018. Effects of infrared blanching and dehydrating pretreatment on oil content of fried potato chips. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation. 42:e13531. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpp.13531.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpp.13531

Interpretive Summary: Hot water and steam blanching methods are normally used to inactivate enzymes in potato slices, followed by the deep-fat frying for producing fried chips. The blanching methods use water and may cause nutrient loss, as well as high fat content in final products. In this study, infrared (IR) heating was used as a dry-blanching method aiming on inactivating polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzyme and reducing the moisture content of potato slices at the same time. The objectives of this study were to (i) investigate the effectiveness of IR-blanching on the inactivation of PPO enzyme; (ii) study the relationship between the MCs of potato slices after blanching and the oil uptake of fried chips; and (iii) evaluate the color, texture, and sensory quality of IR-treated fried potato chips. The results showed that IR blanching can effectively inactive PPO and reduce moisture of potato slices. The total oil content of IR blanched samples was reduced by at least 13.79 % compared to the conventional method. In addition, the sensory evaluation revealed that the consumers preferred the IR-treated chips due to desirable taste.

Technical Abstract: This research investigated the effects of blanching and dehydration by using infrared (IR) heating on the oil content of fried potato chips. The quality characteristics of IR-treated potato chips were also determined. It was observed that the complete inactivation of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzyme could be achieved in 180 s of IR blanching. Following the blanching, the potato slices were further subjected to IR dehydration treatment with a series of duration time prior to deep-fat frying. The sample with a longer dehydration time had a lower moisture content (MC), which corresponded to a shorter frying time during frying and a lower oil content of the final product. The total oil content of IR-treated samples was reduced by at least 13.79 % compared to the conventional method. The b* values for IR-treated potato chips increased faster during frying, which showed the significant changes (p < 0.05) compared to water-blanched samples. In addition, the sensory evaluation revealed that the consumers preferred the IR-treated chips which showed desirable taste.