Frying

PRO
Ch. 17 of Fellows

• Goal?
• mainly to alter the eating quality of a food
to preserve  thermal process & reduction in
Aw.

• How quality (of fried food) is maintained ?

adequate barrier properties of packaging
materials &
correct storage conditions.

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 Theory
• When food is placed in hot oil,
the surface temperature rises rapidly,
water is vaporised as steam.

• The surface begins to dry out ≈ baking &

roasting (see Ch. 16).

• Plane of evaporation
moves inside food;
a crust is formed.

• Surface temperature of food rises

≈ the hot oil,
internal temperature rises more slowly.
• The surface crust has a porous structure,
consisting of different-sized capillaries.
• During frying, water & water vapour are removed
from the larger capillaries & replaced by hot oil.
• Moisture moves from the surface of the food
through a boundary film of oil
• Boundary film thickness controls rate of heat and
mass transfer.
• Thickness of the boundary layer is determined
by the viscosity & velocity of the oil.

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• Driving force behind moisture loss?
 The water vapour pressure
gradient between the moist
interior of the food & the dry oil

• How rate of heat transfer is controlled?

temperature difference  oil & food &
surface heat transfer coefficient (see Ch.1)

• How rate of heat penetration into the food is

controlled?
thermal conductivity of the food (see Ch.1)

• Time for food to be completely fried depends on:

– the type of food
– the temperature of the oil
– the method of frying (shallow or deep-fat
frying)
– the thickness of the food
– the required change in eating quality.

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• Determining temperature for frying?
 economic considerations & the
requirements of the product.
• High temperatures (180–200ºC),
 processing times are reduced &
production rates are increased.
 accelerated deterioration of the oil
 formation of free fatty acids
 alter the viscosity, flavour &
colour of the oil & promote
foaming.

• Acrelein is a breakdown product of oil, produced at high

temperatures, which forms a blue haze above the oil and
is a source of atmospheric pollution.
• What about acrylamide?

• Crust & moist interior foods?

 high-temperature frying.
• Rapid crust formation
(+) seals moisture into the food,
(-) restricts rate of heat transfer to the interior.
• Foods dried by frying are processed at a lower
temperature
to cause the plane of evaporation to move
deeper inside the food before the crust forms.
• Methods of commercial frying: shallow frying &
deep-fat frying.

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Shallow (or contact) frying
• Foods at large ratio of surface-area-to-volume (eg. bacon
slices, eggs, burgers & patties).
• Heat transfer?
mostly by conduction from hot surface of pan through a
thin layer of oil.
• Thickness of oil layer varies  irregularities in food
surface.
+ action of steam bubbles lift the food off the hot surface
 temperature variations as frying proceeds
 irregular browning.
• High surface heat transfer coefficient (200–450 Wm-2K-1);
not uniformly across the entire surface.

Deep-fat frying
• Heat transfer?
Convection within hot oil + conduction to the interior of
food.
• Similar heat treatment on surface  uniform colour &
appearance.
• Irregular shape or pieces with a greater ratio of surface :
mass ?
 tend to absorb & entrain a greater volume of oil when
it is removed from the fryer
• Heat transfer coefficients 250–300Wm-2K-1 before
evaporation of moisture from surface begins, then
increase to 800–1000Wm-2K-1
 violent turbulence caused by steam escaping from the
food.

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• if rate of evaporation is too high, a thin film of
water vapour remains around food & reduces
heat transfer coefficient.

• Moisture loss is proportional to the square root

of frying time

• Oil absorption occurs as moisture is removed

from the food.

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 Equipment
Shallow-frying equipment
• a heated metal surface covered in a thin layer of
oil.

Continuous deep-fat friers [Link]

• stainless steel mesh conveyor submerged in a

thermostatically controlled oil tank.
• heated by electricity, gas, fuel oil or steam.
• food is metered by slow-moving paddles & sinks
to a submerged conveyor
if the food floats, it is held below the surface by a
second conveyor

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• Inclined conveyor removes food &
allows excess oil to drain back into
the tank.

• Oil is continuously re-circulated through external

heaters & filters to remove particles of food

• Fresh oil is added automatically to maintain the

desired level in the tank.

• Food particles that would burn & affect flavour &

colour of the product be removed.

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• Oil viscosity is important for optimum heat
transfer & minimum entrainment in the food.

• Methyl silicone may be added to prevent

foaming.

• Heat & oil recovery systems  to reduce energy

and oil costs.

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 Effect on foods
• Effect of frying on foods…
 effect on the oil influencing quality of food
 direct effect of heat on fried product.

Effect of heat on oil

• Time-temperature + moisture & oxygen released from
foods
 oil oxidation
 volatile carbonyls, hydroxy acids, keto acids & epoxy
acids.
 Unpleasant flavours & darkening of the oil.

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• Breakdown products:
volatile decomposition products
(VDP) &
non-volatile decomposition products (NVDP).

VDPs;
• molecular weight < oil; lost in vapour from the
frier.

• vapour  up to 220 different components form

the smoke & odour of frying.

• also present in the oil  flavour of fried product.

NVDPs;
• formed by oxidation &
polymerisation of oil
• form sediments on the sides & at the base of
fryer.
• polymerisation in the absence of oxygen
produces cyclic compounds
• high-molecular-weight polymers increase oil
viscosity.
 lowers the surface heat transfer coefficient
during frying
 increases the amount of oil entrained by food.
• Many are polar & slow the evaporation of water
& generate foam.

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• add flavour to the fried food
• characteristic golden brown colour
& optimum fat retention.

• Oil that has been used for a short period gives

improved frying compared to fresh oil
 these polar compounds promote better
contact between the oil & both water on the
product surface & vapour leaving the product.

• Quality deteriorates when oil is used for a longer

period.

• Oxidation of fat-soluble vitamins

in the oil  loss of nutritional value.
• Retinol, carotenoids & tocopherols are
destroyed
 changes in flavour & colour of oil.
• Preferential oxidation of tocopherols
 protective effect on the oil (antioxidant).
 most of vegetable-origin frying oils contain a
large proportion of unsaturated fats which are
readily oxidised.
• Linoleic acid, is readily lost & changes the
balance of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids
in the oil.

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Effect of heat on fried foods

• Factors control changes to colour & flavour:

– type of oil
– age & thermal history of the oil
– interfacial tension between oil & product
– temperature & time of frying
– size, moisture content & surface
characteristics of food
– post-frying treatments.

• Those (+) pre-treatments (blanching or partial

drying) influence the amount of oil entrained
within the food.

• In many fried foods, oil can account for up to

45% of the product.

 creating pressure on processors to alter

processing conditions to reduce the amount of
oil absorbed or entrained in their products.

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• Texture of fried foods  changes to
proteins, fats & polymeric
carbohydrates.
• Changes to protein quality  Maillard reactions
with amino acids in the crust.
• Losses of carbohydrates & minerals are likely to
be small.
• Fat content of food increases
 oil absorption & entrainment,
the nutritional significance is difficult to
determine
 varies according to factors, incl. type &
thermal history of oil & the amount entrained in
food.

• High oil temperatures produce rapid

crust formation & seal the food
surface.
 reduces the extent of changes to the bulk of
the food
 retains a high proportion of the nutrients.
Few losses during storage, e.g.
• 17% loss of available lysine in fried fish; to 25%
when thermally damaged oil was used
• Shallow-fried liver lost 15% thiamin & no folate.
• Vitamin C losses in fried potatoes < in boiling
accumulates as DHAA (lower moisture content)
in boiling, DHAA is hydrolysed to 2,3-
diketogluconic acid

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• Frying intended to dry food & to
extend the shelf life cause
substantially higher losses of
nutrients, particularly fat-soluble vitamins, e.g.

• Vit E is oxidised during subsequent storage;

77% loss after 8 wk. at ambient temperature.
Oxidation proceeds at a similar rate at low
temperatures

• French-fried potatoes lost 74% of vit. E in a

similar period under frozen storage.

• Heat- or oxygen-sensitive water soluble vitamins

are destroyed by frying under these conditions.

Vacuum Frying
How does “our” vacuum fryer work?
• carried out under pressures < atmospheric
levels, preferably < 50 Torr (6.65 kPa)
• Due to the pressure lowering, the boiling point
both of the oil & the moisture in foods are
lowered

Advantages
• Can reduce oil content in the fried product
• Can preserve natural color & flavors of the
product
• Less adverse effects on oil quality

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