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Review Article

Vacuum frying vs. conventional frying – An overview†

Rosana G. Moreira

Professor and Assistant Department Head

Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering
Texas A&M University
College Station TX, 77843-2117
979-8478794
[email protected]

Keywords: oil absorption, de-oiling, pressurization, quality, simulation

†
This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been
through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to
differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi:
[10.1002/ejlt.201300272].

© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Received: November 14, 2013 / Revised: February 04, 2014 / Accepted: February 11, 2014

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Abstract

Deep-fat frying of foods usually is carried out under atmospheric conditions at

temperatures near 190ºC. The problem that arises most often is excessive darkening or scorching

of the product, even before the product is completely cooked. In addition, some of the oil

decomposition products have been implicated in producing adverse health effects when fried oils

degraded with continued use.

Vacuum frying is a process that is carried out under pressures well below atmospheric

levels (below 6.65 kPa). Vacuum-fried products have higher retention of nutritional quality

(phytochemicals), color is enhanced (less oxidation), and oil degradation is reduced compared to

atmospheric frying. However, a de-oiling mechanism is necessary to remove the excessive oil

absorption at the surface of the product. The main objectives of this paper are to review the

literature on vacuum frying specifically on the effect of vacuum frying operating conditions such

as pressurization and de-oiling mechanisms on the final product oil content. Product quality

attributes as affected by atmospheric and vacuum pressures and fundamental modeling of the

process are also discussed in this article.

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1) Introduction

Frying is one of the most popular unit operations to process foods. Frying makes food

more palatable, it is fast, and fried products keep better. Deep fat frying, or immersion frying, is

defined as the process of cooking and dehydration of foods by immersing them in hot oil. During

this time, various chemical and physical changes occur. Chemical structural changes occur in the

form of starch gelatinization, protein denaturation, and flavor development. Other changes are

manifested as a decrease in moisture content, increase in product temperature, oil content, and

crust formation.

Deep-fat frying of foods usually is carried out under atmospheric conditions at

temperatures between 165-190ºC. The problem that arises most often is excessive darkening or

scorching of the product, even before the product is completely cooked. In addition, some of the

oil decomposition products have been implicated in producing adverse health effects when frying

oils degraded with continued use (Moreira et al., 1999).

Today, consumers are more interested in healthy products that taste good. Fried products

are produced today using non-hydrogenated oil, and contain no saturated fat and no trans-fats.

Some of these products (sweet-potato chips, apple chips, potato chips-blue) are fried under

vacuum yielding less oil absorption (less of a greasy taste) with higher retention of their natural

color and flavors (Da Silva and Moreira, 2008).

The main objective of this paper was to review the most important advances made in

vacuum frying of foods. Different vacuum frying systems, vacuum frying operation, and vacuum

fried product characteristics are presented with emphasis on the effect of the process operating

conditions on oil content and product quality attributes.

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2) Oil absorption in fried foods

Fried products absorb oil during frying and as they cool. The mechanism of oil

absorption in fried products is a complex process. According to Moreira et al. (1997), oil

absorption is a surface phenomenon that happens as the product is removed from the fryer

(cooling time) because of a temperature difference between the product and ambient

temperatures. The change in temperature causes an increase in capillary pressure (increase in

surface tension) in the product pores, which causes the oil to flow into the open pore spaces. In

fact, during the first seconds of cooling, the internal oil content increases at a fast rate in the

product and then slowly rises to the final value. Ufheil and Escher (1996) proposed that oil

uptake is primarily a surface phenomenon, involving equilibrium between adhesion and drainage

of oil upon removal of the product from the oil; others like Gamble et al. (1987) suggested that

the largest amount of oil is pulled into the product when it is removed from the fryer because of

the vacuum effect due to steam condensation. Moreira and Barrufet (1998), on the other hand,

showed that oil uptake in tortilla chips occurred during the first 20 s of cooling, that is, when the

temperature was still above the condensation temperature, suggesting that the effect of water

vapor condensation is negligible. Since cooling time and cooling rate have a tremendous

influence on the oil absorption of fried products, by controlling the cooling effect by removing

the surface oil, we may reduce the final oil content from fried products. Extended discussions

about oil absorption mechanisms in deep fat frying are reviewed by Ziaiifar et al. (2008) and

Bouchon (2009).

Frying under reduced pressure (vacuum frying) is an efficient alternative method of

reducing the oil content in fried foods while producing the same texture and color of those fried

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in atmospheric conditions (Da Silva and Moreira, 2008; Garayo and Moreira, 2002), as well as,

lowering acrylamide content (Granda et al., 2004) and enhancing organoleptic and nutritional

qualities (Dueik et al., 2010; Da Silva and Moreira, 2008; Shyu and Hwang, 2001). According to

Moreira et al. (2009), de-oiling is one of the most important unit operation steps in vacuum deep-

fat frying to ensure best quality products. Pandey and Moreira (2012) showed that the de-oiling

system in a vacuum fryer removed up to 81% of the potato chip’s surface oil when centrifuged

for 40 s at 750 rpm (63-g) (84% at 300 rpm (10-g)). Short frying time and/or longer centrifuging

time combinations maximized oil removal from the chip’s surface during the process. Increasing

the centrifuge speed seems to reduce the chip’s temperature (convection) thus increasing oil

uptake.

Kim and Moreira (2013) showed that a de-oiling step using a centrifuge ensured oil

content reduction and improved the quality (texture and color) of fried potato slices. Higher

frying temperature (185oC), high-centrifuge speed (457+1 rpm) and short cooling time (>1 sec)

yielded potato chips with low oil uptake. A sharp decrease (65–77%) in oil absorption occurred

when the chips were de-oiled.

Sweet potato chips fried in a vacuum fryer and de-oiled using a centrifuge (40 s at 750

rpm) had 60% less oil content than those fried in atmospheric fryers (Ravli et al., 2013). The

products were fried in a two-stage frying process at 130oC (1 min fried at atmospheric pressure

and 2 min under vacuum) to help the starch to gelatinize to a higher degree thus producing a

better product in terms of mouthfeel, texture, oil content, and flavor. The chips fried in a two-

stage process had 15% less oil content than those only fried under vacuum, showing that the

structure of the chips formed during the process affected the oil absorption during frying.

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3) Deep fat Frying Processes

Fried products can be processed at atmospheric, high, and low (vacuum) pressures. In

atmospheric frying, the product is fried at temperatures between 165-190oC to produce a product

with the right color, texture, and oil content. This technique is used to fry potato chips, French

fries, tortilla/corn chips, doughnuts, tempura, and fish. Generally, fish and vegetables need to be

coated to protect the products from the high temperatures used in this process (Moreira et al.,

1999).

a) High-pressure frying (~184 kPa) is used to fry chicken in the bone. The high pressure allows

for the product to have the correct crispness while keeping the meat moist and cooked. This is

accomplished by keeping the moist inside at high saturation temperature (> 100oC), which allows

for the water to remain inside the product for longer time, and completely cooking the product.

b) Low-pressure or vacuum frying (< 6.65 kPa) is a technique used to fry delicate products such

as fruits and vegetables without destroy their structure. In this process, fruit and vegetables can

be fried at temperature as low as 90oC and still have the same crispness and oil content of those

produced at atmospheric pressure.

4) Vacuum Frying

Vacuum frying is a process that is carried out under pressures well below atmospheric

levels, preferably below 50 Torr (6.65 kPa). It is an efficient method to produce fruit and

vegetable snacks with the necessary degree of dehydration without excessive darkening or

scorching (Moreira et al., 1999). Additionally, vacuum-fried products have higher retention of

nutritional quality (phytochemicals), color is enhanced (less oxidation) (Shyu and Hwang 2001;

Fan et al, 2005; Da Silva and Moreira 2008; Perez-Tinoco et al., 2008), and oil degradation is

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reduced compared to atmospheric frying (Aladedunye and Przybylski, 2009; Shyu et al., 1998).

However, a de-oiling mechanism is necessary to remove the excessive oil absorption at the

surface of the product (Moreira et al., 2009).

Low oil absorption is not the only health benefit of vacuum frying systems. Lower

operating temperatures reduce by 97% the formation of acrylamide in potato chips (Granda et al.,

2004), a potential carcinogenic found in fried snacks, which is formed by the Maillard reaction

involving asparagine as the amino acid (Granda and Moreira, 2005).

In recent years, vacuum-fried fruits and vegetables have become very popular in

southeastern Asia. A couple of companies in Asia have developed such a system for the

processing of fruits (apple, pineapple, grapes, banana, guava, mango, peach, etc.) and vegetables

(sweet potato, potato, pumpkin, carrots, etc.) into chips and fried fishes and shellfishes (octopus

and cattle fish) (Moreira, 2010).

4.1) Vacuum Frying Systems

A vacuum fryer consists of four components: (1) the frying vessel, (2) the vacuum pump,

(3) the de-oiling mechanisms, and (4) the condenser. Figure 1 shows a lab-scale vacuum fryer

used to produce snacks in the Food Engineering laboratory of the Biological and Agricultural

Engineering Department at Texas A&M University. The vessel consists of a heating element, a

thermostat, a basket where the product is placed, and a lid where the vacuum gauge is located. It

has a capacity for 5 liters of oil.

The de-oiling mechanism is a centrifuge, where a motor connected to the basket’s rod

spins the product at a constant rpm for a period of time. The condenser is a spiral-type heat

exchanger, which condenses any vapor coming from the fryer before it reaches the pump. This is

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necessary to protect the pump from the water vapor, which would damage it mechanism and

cause cavitation.

Compared to atmospheric frying, the quality and color of fruits and vegetables fried

under vacuum are superior. Products like apples and mangoes, for example, are not suitable to be

fried at high temperatures because their structure will collapse (Da Silva and Moreira, 2008;

Nunes and Moreira, 2009). Osmotic dehydration is a pre-treatment used to improve the texture of

these products prior to frying. However, their high sugar content produces a dark color and a

scorch taste when they are fried under atmospheric conditions. Therefore, vacuum frying is the

only way to product high quality snacks of fresh fruits and vegetables.

A vacuum frying operation consists of six steps: (1) heating the oil; (2) loading the

product in the basket and closing the lid; (3) evacuating the vessel to about 10 Torr (1.33 kPa)

and then submerging the products into the oil; (4) frying the product until it reaches the desired

moisture level; (5) lifting the basket from the oil and de-oil the samples by centrifugation or

other means; and (6) pressurizing the vessel and open the lid.

The amount of oil in fried products will depend on the centrifuge operation parameters

(speed, residence time, and position of the chips in the basket). Too much oil is undesirable, but

a product with low oil content does not have the tasty and mouth feel characteristics of a high

quality fried product (Nunes and Moreira, 2009).

Many companies in Asia and Europe have designed different commercial size vacuum

frying systems. These systems can be batch or continuous types. A commercial batch vacuum

frying system can fry 50-100 kg potato chips/h and 20-50 kg of fruits/h and operates at a vacuum

of 10.7 Torr (1.42 kPa) (I-Tung Machinery Industry, Taiwan). Apple & Snack Company

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(Hirosaki-shi, Aomori-ken, Japan) is another company specialized in vacuum frying technology

that manufacture vacuum frying equipment for processing different types of fruits and vegetable.

Florigo (BMA, The Netherlands) (Flo-Mech, 2013) has a pilot-scale batch system that

can be used to test the effect of oil temperature, frying time, vacuum level, and de-oiling process

on the quality of the final product.

Continuous vacuum frying was a concept developed by Florigo (BMA, The Netherlands)

in the early 1970’s to produce high quality French fries. Due to the improvement in quality of the

raw materials and blanching techniques, the use of vacuum fryers almost died out with exception

of one or two production companies who still insisted in producing a non-blanched product

(Moreira et al., 1999). Interest in the technology was renewed in the 90’s with the health

concerns of fried products. Today, the BMA automatic continuous vacuum fryers are used to

produce fruit-chips, potato chips, French fries, vegetables, and very delicate snack products.

Several US food companies are now using vacuum frying systems for their European

snack products. A major Japanese snack food company, Calbee Foods Co., uses vacuum fryers

to produce Jagabee potato sticks, a healthy snack product that was introduced in the market with

great success in 2006 (Higgins, 2011).

Because the frying process occurs in a vacuum tube, we can say that vacuum frying

essentially is a batch process, with limited throughput. Even the largest units, which can measure

12 m long and 3 m in width, can only produce about 350 kg of product per hour (Higgins, 2011).

Another aspect of these systems is that they are expensive.

The Florigo vacuum frying system operates in a continuous mode (BMA, 2013). The

vacuum frying pan is installed in a stainless steel vacuum tube where the raw product is

introduced through a rotary device. A conveyor takes the finished product out of the fryer

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toward the outlet. A closed chamber located at the exit of the vacuum tube prevents air from

entering the vacuum zone. A special conveyor system takes the product from one zone to

another. The vacuum is created by vacuum pumps. The frying system contains also a frying oil

circulation and a filtration system that have been adapted to the special conditions in the vacuum

frying installation. These units are equipped with centrifuges for the defatting after frying. The

centrifuges are installed in a special vacuum dome attached to the vacuum fryer. A very

important feature of the system is the easy-to-use PLC control system. Touch-screen monitors

serve to monitor and control the production line. The capacity of this unit is about 350 kg/hr of

potato chips. Certain applications require a two-stage frying process. In that case, the product is

pre-fried in an atmospheric fryer and then subjected to vacuum frying until the final moisture

content is reached. For two-stage frying the capacity is about 1,500 kg/hr (potato chips)

(Higgins, 2011).

In the United States, vacuum frying has been a curiosity in the market. However, with the

obesity and other health concerns, snack food manufacturers have modified product formulations

in recent years to deliver healthier products with reduced sodium, sugar, and oil. Another

example is the development of new equipment to be used in the traditional batch fryers, like the

heated de-oiling centrifuge developed by Heat and Control Inc. (CA, USA). The centrifuge can

remove 25-30% of the surface oil residing on chips as they exit the fryer (Higgins, 2011).

4.2) Fried product characteristics

One way to understand vacuum frying is by comparing products fried under atmospheric

pressure (traditional deep-fat frying) with those fried under vacuum.

Mass transfer in atmospheric frying can be described by two periods: the frying period

and the cooling period. During the frying period, the temperature of the product is raised from

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the ambient temperature to the boiling point of water (100oC). The capillary pressure is

negligible during this period, so almost no oil is absorbed (Moreira et al., 1999). During the

cooling period, the surface oil is absorbed through the pores of the chips. This occurs due to the

difference in pressure (decrease in temperature and pressure in the pore spaces) caused by an

increase in the capillary pressure (Moreira and Barrufet, 1998). Moreira et al. (1997) showed that

only 20% of the total final oil content was absorbed by tortilla chips during frying, and 64%

during cooling, leaving only 36% at the chip’s surface.

During vacuum frying, the mass transfer mechanisms can be divided in five periods:

depressurization, immersion frying, de-oiling, pressurization, and cooling (Yagua and Moreira,

2011). During the depressurization period, the product is placed in the headspace of the frying

vessel until the pressure value goes down to start the second period. In the next step, immersion

frying, heat and mass transfer phenomena occur; heat is convected from the oil to the surface of

the product and then conducted from the surface to the center of the product, water is evaporated

from the product and a small amount of oil is absorbed by the food.

After frying has been completed, the fried products are taken out of the frying medium

and held up in the vessel headspace, the de-oiling process is performed (centrifuging) and most

of the oil is removed from the product’s surface; then the vacuum is broken (pressurization

period) and the system recovers up to atmospheric pressure; an initial cooling of the product also

occurs in this stage. Once the system is back to atmospheric pressure, the lid is open and product

is removed from the frying vessel and allowed to cool down to ambient temperature. As the

product cools, during the pressurization and cooling steps, the pressure inside the pores changes

(is reduced), thus creating a differential in pressure, P, between the surface and the center of the

product. This pressure difference generates a driving force for the oil at the surface to penetrate

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the pores. However, the P during the cooling period is much smaller than the one during the

pressurization period.

As soon as the product is removed from the oil bath, a layer of oil is adhered to the

product’s surface. This oil will drain off as long as the product remains under vacuum. Oil will

not flow into the product because the pressure inside the pores obstructs the passage of oil. A

centrifuge is generally used to accelerate the de-oiling period. If the vacuum is broken before the

de-oiling process is carried on, all the surface oil will be pulled into the pores first, following by

air, i.e., air will enter as soon as the surface oil is depleted and the pore entrance is free (Da

Silva, 2013). During the pressurization period, there is a combination of pressure increase and

temperature decrease in the environment surrounding the product.

4.2.1 Effect of frying temperature on the final oil content

In general, oil temperature does not affect the final oil content (Moreira et al., 1999) of

chips during frying. The same trend was observed when comparing atmospheric frying with

vacuum frying of potato chips (Granda, 2005) (Figure 2). Under atmospheric frying (Figure 2A),

potato chips have shown similar final oil content (59% d.b.) when fried at a temperature range of

150-180oC. The oil absorption rate tends to behave similarly for those temperature ranges. It

increases exponentially as frying time increases and then reaches a plateau by the end of frying

(Granda, 2005). During vacuum frying, (Figure 2B), oil absorption kinetics show different

behaviors compared to atmospheric frying at higher temperatures (~140oC at P = 1.33 kPa). The

chip’s oil content reaches its maximum value early in the frying process, and then decreases as

frying time increases, i.e., the oil absorption rate increased as temperature increased. In that

study (Granda, 2005), for instance, after 150 s at 140oC the oil content increased to 35% w.b.;

beyond 360 s, oil content went down and remained fairly constant (28.5%-28.8% w.b.) to the end

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of frying. The highest oil content during vacuum frying at 140oC coincides with the period at

which water evaporated from the potato slices at the fastest rate at this temperature (Figure 3).

So, the higher the oil temperature, the higher the oil uptake by the potato chips during the first

150 s of frying( Shyu & Hwang, 2001) and Garayo and Moreira, 2002). As the frying

temperature decreases, the peak shifts to the right, in accordance to the period with the fastest

drying rate at the given temperature. For example, at 125oC, the oil content increased very fast

during the first 360 s of frying (29.3% w.b.), reached the maximum oil content at about 480 s

(31.9% w.b.), and decreased to 27.5% w.b. after 600 s. This indicates that the final oil content of

the potato chips at constant pressure is not a function of temperature, but rather a function of

time and remaining moisture, which increases with decreasing temperature (Garayo and Moreira,

2002).

Figure 4 shows the influence of pressure on the final oil content of potato chips at 140oC

(vacuum) and 165oC (atmosphere). Vacuum frying at different temperatures resulted in very

similar final oil content. However, at 140oC, the frying time was reduced to about 420 s

(compared to frying at 118 or 125oC to the same final moisture content), and chips with nice

light color and good texture were obtained. The final oil content for the chips fried under vacuum

at 140oC (28.8% w.b.) was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than the final oil content of potato

chips fried under atmospheric conditions at 165oC (37.1% w.b.).

Yagua and Moreira (2011) studied the effect of temperature on the oil absorption of

potato chips fried under vacuum (1.33 kPa). The oil content was divided into three types: (1)

total oil content (TOC) defined as the oil content of the product after frying without any de-oiling

process; (2) internal oil content (IOC), i.e., the oil content of the chips after the de-oiling process;

and the (3) surface oil content (SOC) was defined as the TOC minus the IOC. They noted that

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the IOC increased in a faster rate first during the first seconds of frying (60-120 s) and then

decreased as frying time increased, i.e., the surface oil was easier removed from the chips

surface, by the de-oiling mechanism, as frying time increased. Changes in product structure

during frying, as pores, permeability (due to starch gelatinization), and interfacial tension may

affect oil absorption during the pressurization period. The maximum oil content can be defined

as a critical oil content, which coincides with the time that most of the water has been removed

from the chips when the structure becomes more apparent with a defined porous media.

The final values of the TOC are comparable with those obtained in traditional frying

since oil is drastically absorbed during the pressurization stage, which drives the surface oil into

the product. Almost 75% of the total oil content was absorbed between the first 70 and 80 s of

frying. After that time interval, the TOC remained constant until the frying process was finished.

The curves for total oil content during vacuum frying at different temperatures showed the same

shape and behavior, the only difference was that the equilibrium value was reached faster at

higher temperatures.

The effect of the pressurization step can be diminished by the use of the de-oiling system.

Surface oil content (SOC) is the oil removed by the de-oiling system before the pressurization

step. The final values of SOC followed the same behavior as that of the TOC in which it reached

the maximum value was reached fast and then it remained constant for the rest of the process.

4.2.2. Effect of vacuum pressure on the final oil content

Vacuum pressure level does not affect the final oil content of potato chips fried at any

temperature (Garayo and Moreira, 2002). Higher vacuum levels (16.7, 9.9, and 3.1 kPa) lead to

faster development of a crust and thus to faster oil absorption rate (due to loss of the

characteristic hydrophilicity of raw potatoes) during the process. Therefore, the oil absorption

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rate was faster as the vacuum level increased. The initial oil pickup (around 150 s) by the potato

chips was higher at lower pressure than at higher vacuum pressures. These results indicate that

probably more oil adheres to the chip’s surface as Pvac decreases. This is because the Tsat of water

decreases (the driving force, T, increases), the moisture loss rate increases, and thus the crust

develops fast.

Fan et al. (2005) showed the effect of vacuum pressure (40, 20, and 5 kPa) on the

moisture and oil contents of carrot chips fried at 80oC. Lower vacuum pressure increased the

rate of water evaporation and oil absorption. The final moisture and oil contents of carrot chips

were not affected by vacuum pressures.

4.2.3 Effect of pre-treatment on the final oil content

Another way of reducing the oil absorption at the surface of vacuum fried products is by

pre-treating the product before frying. Several studies have shown that less oil is absorbed during

the atmospheric frying process using pre-treatment (Gamble and Rice, 1987; Moyano and

Pedreschi, 2006; Duran et al., 2007; Moreno and Bouchon, 2008; Kim and Moreira, 2013).

Delicate products like fruits need to be pretreated before frying to provide texture (firm

structure) to the fruit slices before they can be processed as chips. Often, osmotic dehydration

(OD) is used in combination with vacuum frying to produce high-quality fruit snacks (Da Silva

and Moreira 2008). In recent years, vacuum-fried fruits and vegetables have become very

popular in southeastern Asia. Swi-Bea and others (2004) described the process of processing raw

mango into chips in 3 steps: (1) blanching of mango slices in hot water (95oC), cooling, freezing

(−20oC), and then thawing in a solution containing 30oBrix maltose syrup and 1% calcium

chloride; (2) vacuum frying at 100oC and 70 Torr (9.32 kPa) to produce chips; and (3) de-oiling

by centrifugation and flavoring by adding seasoning.

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Osmotic dehydration has been used to reduce the initial moisture content, conserve, and

retain the initial quality of processed fruits and vegetables (Heng and others 1990; Torreggiani

and Bertolo 2001). Because of the high sugar content of the product after osmotic dehydration,

vacuum frying is an excellent technology to produce high-quality (in terms of sensory, physical

properties, reduced oil content) deep-fat fried fruit chips. Atmospheric frying alone cannot be

used to fry fruits (Da Silva and Moreira 2008) because the product’s texture and color

completely deteriorate, resulting in the collapse of the product’s structure and overcooked

appearance (dark color).

Nunes and Moreira (2009) vacuum fried pretreated (OD for 45 min) mango slices at

120oC for 120 s to produce the lowest oil content (22% w.b.) chips. More than 45% of the oil

content of the chips was reduced by de-oiling the samples by centrifuging at 225 rpm for 25 s

before the pressurization step. Compared to the vacuum fried chips, the chips fried under

atmospheric frying were completely burnt (caramelized due to the sugar content), oily, and

“soggy.”

Examples of pre-treatment for potato chips include: (1) blanching/drying (blanch slices

in hot water at 85oC for 3.5 min and air-dried at 60oC until a final moisture content of ~ 0.6 kg

water/kg dry solid) and (2) pre-treating slices in sulphite solution (slices soaked in a 3.5 kg/m3

sodium metabisulphite solution at 20oC for 3 min and pH adjusted to 3) (Troncoso et al., 2009).

These treatments were affected by the frying temperature and potato variety.

Kim and Moreira (2013) pre-treated potato slices before frying at atmospheric pressure at

165oC for 210 s. The samples were blanched in hot water (85oC/3.5 min) or soaked in 3% NaCl

solution (25C/5 min). Soaking was more effective than blanching when the chips were de-oiled

immediately after frying. Blanching alone had no significant (P > 0.05) effect on the oil content

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of the control samples. Pre-treating the potato slices with 3% NaCl solution resulted in a 10–54%

decrease in oil absorption for the chips cooled for 0–60 s before de-oiling at 350 rpm (8.1-g).

Pre-treating the potato slices with NaCl solution reduced the produced initial moisture content by

23% in average thus reducing the final oil content of the chips after frying (Kim and Moreira,

2013). Increasing the cooling time resulted in higher oil absorption as expected.

Pedreschi et al. (2005) observed that blanching potato slices causes starch gelatinization,

which results in a microstructure with significant influence on the increase of potato chips oil

uptake after frying. Some authors reported that blanching in low-temperature water (55–70C)

before frying activates the pectinesterase enzyme, and the resulting reactions decrease porosity

and hence reduce oil uptake (Aguilar et al. 1997).

Mariscal and Bouchon (2008) showed that pre-dried (air dried at 80oC) vacuum fried (15

kPa and 115oC) apple slices absorbed less than 50% of the oil absorbed by atmospheric fried

chips. Yang et al. (2012) produced vacuum fried (20 kPa and 90oC) sweet potato chips with

50% less oil content than the chips fried under atmospheric pressure. The sweet potato slices

were pre-treated by blanching them in boiling water for 1.5 min, soaking in 40oBx maltodextrin

for 2 hour, and then freezing before frying. A de-oiling system was used to remove the surface

oil from the surface before the vessel was pressurized in both studies.

Troncoso et al. (2009), on the other hand, observed that pre-treated potato slices

(blanched in hot water at 85oC for 3.5 min and air-dried at 60oC until final moisture content of

0.6 kg water/kg dry solid) absorbed more oil during vacuum frying (5.4 kPa and 120-140oC) than

the atmosphere pressure fried samples. The same results were obtained by Troncoso and

Pedreschi (2009). The higher oil contents obtained in those researches for vacuum frying suggest

a better understanding of the pressurization period. In both studies, no de-oiling mechanisms

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were applied to the products before pressurization thus explaining the high oil content of the

chips. The high oil uptake during vacuum frying is expected since oil that is adhered to the chips

surface is drastically absorbed during the pressurization stage of the process where the pressure

difference (Psurroundings - Ppore) drives the surface oil into the product. Yagua and Moreira (2011)

showed that 83–87% of the TOC in vacuum fried potato chips was surface oil content (SOC),

which was easily removed by the de-oiling system. They observed that 75% of the surface oil

was absorbed between the first 70 and 80 s of frying.

4.2.4 Effect of pressurization period and de-oiling period

The pressurization process plays an important role in the oil absorption mechanism. It can

increase or decrease oil absorption depending on the amount of surface oil and free water present

in the product (Garayo and Moreira, 2002). Furthermore, Moreira et al. (2009), established that a

de-oiling process must be used to remove surface oil under vacuum after the product is fried.

They found that 14% of the total oil content was located in the core (internal oil) and the

remaining 86% of the oil content was surface oil. The de-oiling mechanism (a centrifuging

system) used in the study removed surface oil before the pressurization step and was able to

reduce the total oil content by about 80–90%.

To understand and decrease oil absorption during the pressurization step, Mir-Bel et al.

(2009) investigated the influence of various parameters of the pressurization and cooling stage

on the final oil content of fried potato using different geometries, and explained that oil

absorption during the cooling stage is greatly influenced not only by the difference in

temperature, but also by the vacuum break conditions as the system recovers atmospheric

pressure. They found that the volume of oil absorbed by the product is inversely proportional to

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the pressurization velocity meaning that lower velocities favors oil absorption showing an

increase of 70% for potato chips compared to the oil content when the vacuum breaks abruptly.

Pandey and Moreira (2012) showed that potato chips would absorb less oil with a

decrease in pressurization rate, regardless of the frying temperature. Drainage of the surface oil

during the process may have played an important role in reducing the oil content from the chips.

These results showed that the faster the pressurization rate (P), and the faster the cooling, the

higher the chips final oil content. During the pressurization step, the pressure in the pore space

increases quickly causing the adhered oil at the chip surface penetrate in the porous food, until

the pressure at the pores equals the atmospheric pressure.

When de-oiling process is used with vacuum fried products, the oil content is reduced

substantially (Da Silva et al., 2008). Oil content of potato chips fried under atmospheric

conditions can be as low as 17% w.b. when some type of device is used to remove the oil content

at the product’s surface (Kim and Moreira, 2013). Without de-oiling mechanisms, vacuum fried

products would result in higher oil content (Da Silva and Moreira, 2008).

Different ways of de-oiling the product during the pressurization stage can be used.

Dueik et al. (2010) showed that 50% of the surface oil could be removed from the surface of

vacuum fried (6.5 kPa and 118oC) carrot chips when the basket was lifted out and left to stand

for 3 min before the vessel was pressurized. Most of the surface oil drained off easily during that

step because the high temperature inside the vessel maintained oil viscosity low. Paper bloating

the chips immediately after the frying vessel is opened helped to remove most of the absorbed oil

(oil drainage by capillary forces) as demonstrated by Garayo and Moreira (2002) and Granda

(2005). Centrifuges have also been used by several researchers to remove excess surface oil and

to minimize oil absorption during vacuum frying of foods (Da Silva and Moreira, 2008; Yagua

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and Moreira, 2011; Yamsaengsun et al., 2011; Pandey and Moreira, 2012; Sothornvit, 2011;

Basuny et al., 2012; Yang et al., 2012; Rivali et al, 2013).

Without any de-oiling process, oil content in potato chips can be as high as 40% w.b.

(Garayo and Moreira, 2002; Trocoso et al., 2009). However, when a centrifuge is used to de-oil

the product under vacuum, the oil content can be reduced to as low as 6% w.b. (87% less)

(Yagua and Moreira, 2011). It is important to notice that not only the centrifugal force but also

the centrifuge time can affect the de-oiling process. In addition, the position of the chips

(horizontal or vertical) related to the axis-direction of the centrifugal forces can affect the de-

oiling process. De-oiling chips in the horizontal position can result in oil content around 18-28%

w.b. However, when the chips are de-oiled in the vertical position, oil content can be as low as

7% w.b. (Pandey, 2010).

The pore size distribution in vacuum fried potato chips is more uniformly distributed

(Yagua and Moreira, 2011) than in chips fried in traditional frying, which makes it easier to

remove the surface oil during the de-oiling process in vacuum fried chips (Smith et al., 1992).

Ravli et al. (2013) showed that sweet potato chips prepared under vacuum frying had a dark

orange color and a surface with very few blisters, compared to the chips fried under atmospheric

conditions, which were brownish and had a rough surface with many bubbles. The oil content of

the atmospheric pressure fried chips was 60% higher than the chips fried under vacuum.

Ravli et al (2013) showed that frying sweet potato slices under two-stage process (1 min

under atmospheric pressure and 2 minutes under vacuum pressure) resulted in a product with

better sensory quality (flavor and mouthfeel). The vacuum fried chips were more compact than

the two-stage fried ones, which had more blisters. The two-stage fried chips shrunk more in the

diameter and expanded more in the thickness than the sample fried under vacuum only. The

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TOC of the two-stage fried chips was higher than the product fried under vacuum. However, the

IOC was lower for the two-stage fried samples. This suggests that the structure of those chips

were very different and the de-oiling process could remove the surface oil easier from the chips

fried under the two-stage process.

4.2.5 Effect of vacuum frying on product quality attributes

Although oil content is an important quality parameter for fried products, the overall

quality characteristics have to include color, texture, and flavor. Vacuum frying is the only

frying technology that can be used to fry delicate, high-sugar content products like fruits and

vegetables. In general, vacuum-fried snacks retain more of their natural colors and flavors due to

the lesser oxidation and lower frying temperature (Da Silva et al., 2008).

The most important textural attribute of chips is crispness, which denotes freshness and

high quality. A crispy product should be firm and snap easily when bent, emitting a crunchy

sound (Krokida et al., 2001). Frying of raw vegetables induces major changes in their

microstructure, which in turn determine their final physical and sensory properties. Monitoring

the changes that occur in the product texture during frying can help to understand the most

transport mechanisms during frying. Dueik et al. (2010) observed the textural changes of carrot

chips fried during atmospheric and vacuum frying by measuring the maximum force to fracture

the samples in a three-point bending test. During frying, the carrot slices showed an initial

softening that was followed by hardening due to the progressive development of a dehydrated

crust. They modeled the texture changes (normalized maximum force) during frying by means of

two terms: a fast phase, which describes the softening of the tissue and a slow phase that defines

the hardening dependent component. The final maximum force of fried carrot chips was not

affected by the frying technology and the frying temperature used. However, results from

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different studies (Nunes and Moreira, 2009; Yang et al., 2012) have shown that sensory panelist

find great differences between vacuum fried and atmospheric fried chips.

Fruits and vegetables are source of many vitamins and antioxidants. Consumers often

find it difficult to eat more fruits and vegetables because they believe they are too expensive,

spoil too quickly, or take too long to prepare. There are many high nutritious vegetables and

fruits that could be vacuum fried. Carotenoids make corn yellow, carrots orange, and tomatoes

red. More than 600 carotenoids have been found in plants. About half of the roughly 50

carotenoids in the human diet are absorbed into the blood stream. Lycopene and beta-carotene

each constitutes about 30% of plasma carotenoids. Only alpha, beta and a few other carotenes

(not lycopene or lutein) can be converted to Vitamin A. Both alpha-carotene and betacarotene

are protective against liver cancer and lung cancer in cell culture and animal studies. Carotenoids

are nearly insoluble in water and are best absorbed when associated with oils (Da Silva et al.,

2008).

Da Silva and Moreira (2008) compared the changes in product quality attributes (PQA)

such as color, texture, phytochemicals, oil content, and sensory characteristic for different fruits

and vegetables (sweet potato, blue potato, mango, and green beans) fried in vacuum and

traditional fryers. To increase the solid content of the green beans and mango and obtain a better

texture, these products need to be pre-treated before frying by osmotic dehydration in sugar

solutions before frying. In their study, the sensory panelists overwhelmingly preferred the

vacuum-fried products for color, texture, taste, and overall quality. Most of the products retained

or accentuated their original colors when fried under vacuum. In contrast, the atmospheric-fried

products showed excessive darkening and scorching. Anthocyanin and total carotenoids content

were significantly high (20-50% higher) for the products fried in the vacuum fryer than those in

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the traditional fryer. In general, products fried under atmospheric conditions are darker than the

products fried under vacuum. Most fruits retain or accentuate their original colors when fried

under vacuum. Vacuum frying method clearly reduced color degradation due to low oxidation

during the process. In addition, the technology allows to produce fried products with good

texture even when using lower oil temperature (<100oC). This is not possible when using

atmospheric frying that requires higher temperature to produce the right crunchiness.

Fried carrot slices fried under vacuum (6.5 kPa) at temperatures 98-118oC retained 90%

of trans -carotene and 86% trans -carotene, which leads to the preservation of the color of raw

carrots (Dueik et al., 2010).

Perez-Tinoco et al. (2008) vacuum fried (24 kPa) pineapple chips at 106-117oC and noted

that the total phenolic content and dehydro-ascorbic acid content increased with increasing frying

time and temperature. The chips had a golden yellow color, low oil content, and high residual

content of vitamin C.

Sometimes a pre-treatment is needed to provide texture (firm structure) to delicate

products like fruits, before they can be processed as chips. Osmotic dehydration (OD) is used in

combination with vacuum frying to produce high-quality fruit snacks (Da Silva and Moreira

2008). Osmotic dehydration has been used to reduce the initial moisture content, conserve, and

retain the initial quality of processed fruits and vegetables (Heng et al., 1990; Torreggiani and

Bertolo, 2001). During osmotic processing, water flows from the product into the concentrated

osmotic solution, while small amounts of the osmotic solute are transferred from the solution

into the product (Dermesonlouoglou et al., 2007).

The high sugar content of the product after osmotic dehydration, requires a low

temperature process like vacuum frying to produce high-quality (in terms of sensory, physical

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properties, reduced oil content) deep-fat fried fruit chips. Atmospheric frying alone cannot be

used to fry fruits (Da Silva and Moreira, 2008) because the product’s texture and color

completely deteriorate, resulting in the collapse of the product’s structure and overcooked

appearance (dark color).

High quality mango chips could be produced with an osmotic solution (maltodextrin)

concentration of 65 (w/v) and temperature of 40◦C, which resulted in the highest dehydration

efficiency index (water loss/sugar gain) and provided a good texture characteristic, lowest oil

content, and best color and flavor (Nunes and Moreira, 2009). Vacuum frying at 120◦C for 140 s

(approximately 2% moisture content) resulted in the highest carotenoid retention (around 62%).

Compared to mango chips fried under atmospheric frying conditions (32% less).

Yang et al., 2012 showed that pre-treated vacuum fried sweet potato chips (20 kPa and

90oC) had higher total carotenoids and anthocyanin compared to the atmospheric fried chips.

Sensory panelist showed preference for the vacuum fried chips in terms of color and flavor, but

favored the texture of the atmospheric fried chips.

4.3) Acrylamide formation in fried products

Researchers in Sweden first reported the presence of acrylamide in foods in April 2002.

Following that, analysis conducted on samples collected in the United States, United Kingdom,

Norway, and Switzerland have verified the Swedish observation that acrylamide is formed

primarily in carbohydrate-rich food cooked at high temperature (EC, 2002). These findings were

soon confirmed by other research groups, which carried out efforts to understand acrylamide

formation in foods, the risks associated for consumers and possible strategies to lower

acrylamide levels in foodstuffs.

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The highest levels of acrylamide have been found in French fries, potato chips, and other

fried, deep fat fried, or oven-cooked potato products, together with some crisp bread, biscuits,

crackers, and breakfast cereals (Tareke et al., 2000).

The Maillard reaction has been suggested to be the main chemical mechanism governing

acrylamide formation during heat treatment. A consensus has been achieved upon that the major

route for acrylamide formation in potato products remains the route via asparagine and reducing

sugars (Vinci et al., 2012).

Frying conditions dramatically affect acrylamide levels. Maillard reaction is an important

process during frying, because it is responsible for the browning and flavor development of the

fried product (Granda and Moreira, 2005). Intense frying conditions (time and temperature) lead

to darker fries and higher acrylamide contents (Pedreschi et al., 2007; Gökmen and Senyuva,

2006; Granda and Moreira, 2005). On the other hand, frying at lower temperatures (below

140oC) results in increased frying time and enhances fat uptake (Moreira et al., 1999). Frying

under reduced vacuum resulted in great acrylamide reductions (up to 94%) (Granda et al., 2004)

due to the lower temperature used during vacuum frying.

A recent study compared the effect of frying vs. baking on acrylamide contents of potato

chips (Palazoglu et al., 2010). The authors concluded that baking at 170oC resulted in more than

the double of acrylamide contents when compared to frying at the same temperature. However,

at 180 and 190oC, acrylamide levels of chips prepared by baking were lower than the fried ones.

4.4) Mathematical modeling of vacuum frying

Most of the frying models found in the literature were developed for atmospheric frying,

which could be used as a first approximation to predict the kinetics of change of oil absorption,

water loss, temperature, and pressure changes during vacuum frying. Some of these models can

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be classified as diffusional transport of energy and moisture with evaporation of water (Chen and

Moreira, 1997; Williams and Mittal, 1999); two region model with a sharp boundary separating

the core and crust region (Farkas et al., 1996); and multiphase porous media models (Ni and

Datta,1999; Yamsaengsung and Moreira, 2002; Halder et al., 2007). The model of

Yamsaengsung and Moreira (2002) was the only one that considered porosity changes with

frying time and that shrinkage during frying is due to removal of bound water. Comparison

among these models is described in Halder et al. (2007).

One of the most important transport mechanisms in deep fat frying is oil absorption

(Zaiifar et al., 2008) and Bouchon, 2009). Most of the oil uptake takes place during the post-

frying cooling (Moreira et al., 1999). This was quantified by Moreira et al. (1997) who showed

that 20% of the oil pickup takes place during immersion frying and the rest during post-frying

cooling. Several models have been postulated to predict oil absorption during frying.

Uptake of oil during frying was implemented as a diffusion term by Ni and Datta (1999)

and Halder et al. (2007) with a constant oil concentration boundary condition but the cooling

process was not included. Yamsaengsung and Moreira (2002) assumed that oil absorption during

cooling was due to capillary pressure and the condensation of water-vapor was negligible.

Bouchon and Pyle (2005) simulated oil uptake during the cooling process assuming that pressure

inside the potato is due to vapor only (e.g., no air).

Mechanistic modeling of vacuum frying has been limited. Troncoso and Pedreschi (2009)

used the analytical solution for Fick’s law of diffusion to model water loss in potato chips. Oil

uptake was modeled using an empirical model. Mir et al. (2008) used the time-dependent

conductive heat equation with an evaporation term. They also modeled core temperature and the

moving crust thickness. They modeled steam convection with an approximated Darcy’s

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equation. Both models attempt to use a phenomenological approach for portions of their

respective models but resort to empirical relations for either water loss or oil absorption.

Warning et al. (2012) implemented a porous media based model for deep fat frying of

potato chips in a commercial CFD program. The depressurization and pressurization periods

were not included in the model. Those are important steps during vacuum frying and cannot be

ignored. Most of the oil is absorbed during the pressurization period and the changes in the

pressure, temperature, and moisture distribution in the product during depressurization affect the

transport of mass and energy during frying.

A number of assumptions were also made in developing the model. They neglected

shrinkage and changes in porosity; water and oil are pressure and capillary driven; vapor is

pressure driven with binary diffusion in the air; evaporation of water is formulated using a non-

equilibrium approach (Halder et al., 2007). Because of the lack of data available on the

interaction of oil with the potato surface during immersion frying or post-frying cooling, the

authors used a constant oil concentration at the boundary and did not consider frying as

combination of different stages (e.g., boiling and non-boiling stages). Additionally, they used a

constant convective heat and mass transfer coefficient through the process (Warning et al.,

2012).

The simulation was not able to capture the changes in oil absorption during the initial

stages of frying. The oil permeability and diffusivity in the model were unable to capture the

effect of changing pore size and other physical changes in the potato chip during crust formation.

Collapsing and expanding pores, along with gelatinization of the potato starch greatly affects

permeability.

5.) Conclusions

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Frying under atmospheric frying can be divided into two steps, frying and cooling, with

most of the oil absorbed during the cooling period. In vacuum frying, the time it takes for the

vessel to reach the vacuum pressure and the pressurization step affect the way the structure of the

product is formed during frying and the amount of oil absorbed into the chips, respectively. Most

of the adhering oil to the product surface will be absorbed during the pressurization period.

Therefore, means of removing the surface oil before the vacuum is broken is required in vacuum

frying processes. Pre-treatment, such as osmotic dehydration, are generally used when frying

delicate fruits and vegetables, such osmotic dehydration to improve the sample texture. Frying

potato chips under atmospheric conditions before vacuum frying improves starch gelatinization

and mouthfeel. A better understanding of the structure changes in products during frying under

both pressures can further improves the quality of vacuum fried products. Most of the advances

made in vacuum frying have been concentrated on the kinetics of moisture loss and oil

absorption during frying as compared to atmospheric frying. However, additional work is needed

to improve the simulation program of the vacuum frying process by including the evacuation,

pressurization, and cooling steps in the fundamental modeling.

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Accept e d Article

Figure 1: Laboratory vacuum frying system.

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 www.ejlst.com European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology
Accept e d Article

Figure 2: A: Oil absorption rate of potato chips fried under traditional (101.33 kPa) frying at
different frying oil temperatures; B: Oil absorption rate of potato chips fried under vacuum (1.33
kPa) frying at different frying oil temperatures.

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 www.ejlst.com European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology
Accept e d Article

Figure 3: A: Drying rate of potato chips fried under traditional (101.33 kPa) frying at different
frying oil temperatures; B: Drying rate of potato chips fried under vacuum (1.33 kPa) frying at
different frying oil temperatures.

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 www.ejlst.com European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology
Accept e d Article

Figure 4. Comparison of oil absorption rates for potato chips fried under traditional (165oC) and
vacuum (10 Torr (1.33 kPa), 140oC) frying (Granda, 2005).

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