Mechanisms of oil uptake in french fries
Résumé
Deep fat frying causes a poor perception of fried products because it generates thermooxidized substances and is associated with overweight issues leading to health concerns. Hence, rupture technologies are highly desirable to reduce oil uptake dramatically. This chapter reviews current understanding of oil uptake mechanisms in cellular materials such as french fries. In particular, the relationship between pressure and oil uptake and the critical role of potato structure are discussed. New oil uptake dynamics in potato parenchyma cells validate Kinetic Monte-Carlo simulations of oil–gas percolation up to the scale of an entire french fry. Finally, breakthrough experiments present deviations from conventional descriptions of oil uptake mechanisms. It is shown that in frozen par-fried products, inner vaporization and inner overpressure are delayed, enabling oil penetration at the early stages of immersion frying.