Effect of Microwave Blanching on Acrylamide Content and Quality Attributes of French Fries

摘要

Fried potato products are among the foods with the highest levels of acrylamide due to the high level ofacrylamide precursors naturally present in potato. Therefore, reducing acrylamide level of fried potatoproducts such as French fries is important. The objective of this study was to employ microwave blanching(instead of conventional blanching) during manufacturing of frozen par-fried potato strips and investigate itseffect on acrylamide content and quality attributes (texture, color, oil content) of French fries.Microwave blanching was performed by immersing the potato strips in boiling water and microwaving for 1,2, 3, and 4 min at 900 W prior to drying, par-frying, cooling and freezing steps. Conventional blanchingconsisted of two steps: 3 min at 80 °C followed by 20 min at 65 °C (control sample). Frying times at 180 °Cwere determined by analyzing the samples sensorily for a thoroughly-cooked potato strip with a soft interiorand a crispy outer crust. Frying times for the control and 1, 2, 3 and 4 min microwave blanched samples were5, 4, 3.5, 3 and 2.5 min, respectively. Color measurement was done by digital image analysis, TextureAnalyzer was used for texture measurement and oil content was determined using Soxhlet method. An LCMSmethod was used for acrylamide analysis.Acrylamide reductions (in comparison to the control) for the samples microwave-blanched for 1, 2, 3, 4 minwere 18%, 48%, 71% and 79%, respectively. The samples microwave-blanched for 3 min were the mostcomparable to the control in terms of quality attributes. The method modification also shortened bothblanching and frying times. Therefore, the results of this study may be useful in industrial production ofFrench fries. However, the effect of microwave power should be investigated and optimization of blanchingtime should be performed for industrial-scale microwave systems.