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Original article The optimization of vacuum frying to dehydrate carrot chips

Liu-ping Fan,1 Min Zhang,1* Gong-nian Xiao,2 Jin-cai Sun2 & Qian Tao1
1 Key Laboratory of Food Science and Safety, Ministry of Education, Southern Yangtze University, Wuxi 214036, China 2 R & D Center, Haitong Food Group Ltd. Co, Cixi 315300, China (Received 10 October 2003; Accepted in revised form 18 April 2004)

Summary

The eects of pretreatment and processing conditions, such as frying temperature, absolute vacuum pressure and frying time; on the properties of fried carrot chips were studied. Statistical analysis with response surface regression showed that moisture content, fat content and breaking force of carrot chips were signicantly (P < 0.05) correlated with frying temperature, vacuum absolute pressure and frying time. The optimum conditions were a vacuum frying temperature of 100110 C, a vacuum absolute pressure of 0.010 0.020 MPa and a frying time of 15 min.
Breaking force, cell structure, fat content, frying temperature, moisture content, vacuum absolute pressure.

Keywords

Introduction

Frying, combined with dehydration, is an established process of food preparation world-wide. It is a simultaneous heat and mass transfer process where moisture leaves the food in the form of vapour bubbles, while oil is absorbed simultaneously. During the frying process the physical, chemical and sensory characteristics of the food are modied. To date most of the research has been related to conventional deep-fat frying. Several models have been developed to describe moisture evaporation and oil absorption in deepfat frying (Moreira & Bakker-Arkema, 1989; Rice & Gamble, 1989; Kozempel et al., 1991). Mittelman et al. (1984) reported that oil temperature and frying time are the main frying operation variables controlling mass transfer in deep-fat frying. However, deep-fat frying is performed at a high temperature (about 180 C) under atmospheric pressure. Because of the higher heat treatment surface darkening and many other adverse reactions may occur before the food is fully cooked. Vacuum frying is an alternative way to improve the quality of dehydrated food. The
*Correspondent: Fax: 0086 (0)510 580 7976; e-mail: min@sytu.edu.cn doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2005.00985.x
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sample is heated under a negative pressure that lowers the boiling points of the frying oil and the water in the sample. Moreover, the absence of air during frying may inhibit oxidation including lipid oxidation, enzymatic browning and, therefore, the colour and nutrients of samples can be largely preserved (Xu, 1996; Gao & Liang, 1999). Carrot (Daucus carota L. var. sativa D.C.) has the highest carotene content of any human foods (Desobry et al., 1998). Carotene, a source of provitamin A, may play a role in protecting the body from numerous diseases that are associated with oxidative stress and damage (Handelman, 2001), and it also has many non-antioxidant properties that aect cellular signalling pathways, modify the expression of some genes and can act as inhibitors of regulatory enzymes (Stahl & AleAgha, 2002). To maximize the use of carrot as a source of provitamin A, it is important to nd an appropriate processing method to manufacture products that are not only highly preferred by consumers but also are good nutritional sources of provitamin A. Carotene bioavailability depends on the dietary fat concentration (Dimitrov et al., 1988) and on the type and condition of processing. Carrot chips after vacuum frying contains more lipids, which may further improve their ability to serve as a source of provitamin A.

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There have been numerous studies, experimental and simulated, dealing with the deep-fat frying of carrot slices in normal air to enhance quality. Slinde et al. (1993) fermented carrot slices in lactic acid in brine prior to deep-fat frying and obtained light red-yellow carrot chips. Aukrust et al. (1994, 1995) showed that the osmolarity and composition of the brine were important factors inuencing frying time, colour, fat content, yield and texture. Baardseth et al. (1996) reported that, during deepfat frying, carrots with both high dry matter and total sugar content were the most suitable for carrot chip production, giving both a lower fat content and a lighter colour. Furthermore, Skrede et al. (1997) concluded that the carotenoid levels of carrots were well retained during the processing of carrot chips. Sulaeman et al. (2001a) evaluated the inuence of dierent pretreatments prior to the deep-frying of carrot slices on the carotenoid content, physico-chemical and sensory qualities of deep-fried carrot chips. Moreover, Sulaeman et al. (2001b) found that frying temperature signicantly aected the a-carotene, b-carotene and total carotenoid contents. Oil type signicantly inuenced all colour values. Increasing temperature lowered the redness value and decreased the hardness value (Sulaeman et al., 2001b). As carotene is very susceptible to oxygen, light and heat, Sulaeman et al. (2001c) reported the changes in carotenoid, physico-chemical and sensory values of deep-fried carrot chips during storage. They found that deep-fried carrot chips, packaged in opaque pouches under partial vacuum, can be stored for at least 5 months with only small losses

of carotenoid, physico-chemical and sensory properties. Zhao & Chang (1995) compared the eects of sulphite and starch treatments on the quality of dehydrated carrots and the results indicated that corn starch and sulphite can retard both the loss of redness and total a- and b-carotene breakdown during storage. Most of the research found in the literature is related to deep-fat frying and there are very few studies on the eect of the vacuum absolute pressure on moisture, fat content and texture of carrot chips. The objective of this paper was to investigate the eects of frying temperature, absolute vacuum pressure and frying time on the moisture content, fat content and texture of carrot chips. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the vacuum frying conditions.
Materials and methods

Red Carrots (Daucus carota L. var. sativa D.C.) were purchased 5 days after harvest from a local market in Wuxi and samples were stored in polyethylene bags in a refrigerator at 12 C for 12 month prior to processing. Soybean salad oil (Jia-li Co. Ltd, Shanghai, China) was also purchased from a local market. The vacuum fryer (Fig. 1), equipped with a centrifuge, (Nan Feng Company, Wuxi, China) had a capacity of 15 L and a maximum temperature and vacuum absolute pressure of 150 C and 0.0050 MPa respectively for an oil capacity of 5 L. A water-bath (HH-2 Guohua Wiring Company, Shanghai,

1 3

1. Frying basket 2. Vacuum fryer 3. Store oilcan 5. Segregator 6. Vacuum pump 7. Electric motor

4. Condenser

Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the vacuum frying system.

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China) was used for pretreatment, and a texture analyzer (TA-XT2i, Stable Micro System Co. Ltd., Godalming, Surrey GU7 1YL,UK) was used for measurement of the breaking force of the samples. Preparation of carrot slices Fresh carrots were washed, peeled and sliced (3 0.2 mm thick). The carrot slices were treated as follows: blanching for 2 min in boiling brine (salt content 2%), cooling under running tap water for 3 min, draining on absorbent paper until the surface was nearly dry and immersing in a 30% mixed aqueous solution of malt and dextrin (malt:dextrin 2:1) for 1 h followed by freezing at )18 C overnight. The carrots were divided into the following three dierent pretreatments: The blanched carrot slices were either (i) directly fried, or (ii) immersed in the mixed solution and then fried, or (iii) immersed in the mixed solution, frozen overnight and then fried. Vacuum frying procedure In order to assess the eect of frying temperature, absolute vacuum pressure and frying time on the quality of carrot chips, experiments were done at dierent oil temperatures (80, 100, 120 C), vacuum pressures (0.040, 0.020, 0.0050 MPa), and frying times (530 min). A 100 g batch of carrot slices, after the pretreatment, was fried in 5 L of soybean oil. After frying, the carrots chips were vacuum centrifuged at 10 g for 10 min to remove the excess frying oil. Experimental design A RSM was used to optimize the vacuum frying conditions. The three independent variables in this experiment were frying temperature (X1), vacuum pressure (X2) and frying time (X3). Three levels of each of three independent variables were chosen for study. According to the vacuum frying procedure described previously, a frying temperature of 105 C, a vacuum pressure of 0.020 MPa and a frying time of 15 min were chosen as the centre points in the process optimization. The coded values of
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Table 1 The coded values of the independent variables Codes Variable X1 (C) X2 (MPa) X3 (min) )1 90 0.035 10 0 105 0.020 15 +1 120 0.0050 20

the three independent variables are summarized in Table 1. Analysis of samples Histological examination The cell structure of the carrot chips was examined by using the techniques described by Zheng (1982). The carrot chips were xed for 24 h in formalin-acetic acid-alcohol uid. After alcohol dehydration and xylene transparentness, samples were embedded in paran wax. The cross-section of the carrot chips was observed under a light microscope. Moisture content The carrot chips were ground with a mortar at the end of each vacuum frying operation. Moisture content was determined using approximately 5 g of the ground carrot chips and oven drying at 102 3 C until the weight stabilized. The tests were carried out in duplicate. Fat content The carrot chips were ground and oven-dried. Fat was extracted for 6 h in a Soxhlet apparatus with diethyl ether. Analyses were performed in duplicate. Texture A texture analyzer was used for breaking force determination. The carrot chip was placed over the end of a hollow cylinder. A stainless steel ball probe (P/0.25s), moving at a speed of 5 mm s)1 over a distance of 5.0 mm, was used to break the chip. All numerical results were expressed in grams. Statistical analysis Data were analysed by using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS, version8.0, SAS Institute Inc.

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(a)

Blanching

(b)

Blanching + immersing

(c) Blanching + immersing + freezing

Figure 2 Light micrographs of vacuum fried carrot chips prepared with different pretreatments (magnication 40 10).

Cary, NC, USA). Analyses of variance were performed by the anova procedure. Mean values were considered signicantly dierent when P < 0.05.
Result and discussion

Effects of frying temperature, time and vacuum absolute pressure on the moisture and fat contents of carrot chips Figure 3 represents the eects of frying temperature (T) and time on the moisture content of the chips during vacuum frying at 0.020 MPa. The moisture content of the carrot chips was above 10% after frying at 80 C for 15 min, the rate of drying decreasing slowly after frying for 25 min. Even after frying for 30 min, the moisture content was still above 2%. The moisture content of carrot chips decreased to below 3% after frying at 100 C for 15 min and thereafter decreased slightly. When carrot chips were fried at 120 C, the moisture content decreased to 2% in 15 min. Loss of moisture during vacuum frying was similar to the falling rate period of drying. Increasing the oil temperature at the same vacuum pressure decreased the frying time of carrot chips and improved the rate of drying. Frying temperature signicantly aected (P < 0.05) the moisture content; the higher the

Effect of the pretreatment on microstructure of fried carrot chips In this experiment, the carrot chips treated with dierent pretreatments were vacuum fried at a frying temperature of 100 C and a vacuum pressure of 0.0050 MPa for 15 min. In order to examine the cell structure of the carrot chips, microscopic observations of the vertical cross sections were made. Carrot chips treated by blanching appeared to have cell separation, shrinkage and elongation, and the cellulosic walls were wrinkled (Fig. 2a). Water rapidly evaporated under the vacuum condition and this may have resulted in shrinkage and distortion after vacuum frying. Carrot chips treated by blanching and immersing in the mixed solution showed a little distortion, uniform porosity and a slightly enlarged cell structure (Fig. 2b). When carrot chips were blanched, immersed in mixed solution and kept frozen prior to vacuum frying, a more uniform porosity was observed (Fig. 2c). Some water was removed by the osmotic action of the mixed solution through the cell membrane increasing the dry-matter content of the carrot slices and reducing surface shrinkage. However, water evaporates from the ice crystal state formed after freezing under the vacuum condition. The net result is that carrot chips of a better quality could be obtained using this pretreatment.

35

Moisture content (%)

30 25 20 15 10 5 0 0 10 20 Frying time (min) 30 40 T = 120 C T = 100 C T = 80 C

Figure 3 The effect of frying temperature on the moisture content of carrot chips during vacuum frying at 0.020 MPa.

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temperature, the lower the moisture content. This result was not in agreement with the work of Sulaeman et al. (2001b). They reported that the higher the temperature, the higher the moisture content during deep-fat frying of carrot chips. Figure 4 shows the oil absorption curves for vacuum frying (0.020 MPa) at three temperatures. The fat content of the carrot chips increased with increasing temperature and time. The rate of oil absorption decreased considerably after frying at 80 C for 25 min and at 100 C or 120 C for 15 min. There were signicant dierences (P < 0.05) in the fat contents of carrot chips fried at the dierent frying temperatures. Sulaeman et al. (2001b) and Baardseth et al. (1996) reported that the fat content of carrot chips was dependent on the frying temperature and the type of oil used during deep-fat frying. This phenomenon of fat absorption coincided with a period of moisture evaporation from the carrot chips. The fat content appears to be related to the moisture content. The changes in the water and fat contents are in agreement with the works of Rice & Gamble (1989); Krokida & Oreopoulou (2000), and Gamble et al. (1987). When the slices are placed in hot oil under low pressure, the free water is rapidly lost in the form of bubbles. As the frying continues, the outer surface dries out, improving its hydrophobicity and oil may adhere to the chips. When the chips are removed from the fryer, the vapour inside the pores condenses and the dierence in pressure between the surrounding tissue and the pore causes the oil adhering to the surface
45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 10 20

to be absorbed into the pore space. However, if the chips contain more moisture, this higher moisture content will hinder the oil from entering the pore spaces. Figures 5 and 6 show the eect of vacuum pressure on the moisture and fat contents of carrot chips, at the same frying temperature (80 C). Lower vacuum pressure increased the rate of water evaporation and oil absorption. The moisture and fat contents of carrot chips changed only slightly after frying at a vacuum absolute pressure of 0.0050 MPa for 20 min, 0.040 MPa for 30 min, or 0.020 MPa for 25 min. At a vacuum absolute pressure of 0.040 MPa, the boiling point of water is about 77 C, at 0.020 MPa, it is about 61 C, and at 0.0050 MPa, it is only about 36 C. The boiling temperature of water in the carrot slice is slightly higher than the boiling point of the pure

Moisture content (%)

50 40 30 20 10 0 0 10 20 30 40 Frying time (min) v = 0.0050 MPa v = 0.020 MPa v = 0.040 MPa

Figure 5 Effect of vacuum absolute pressure (v) on the moisture content of carrot chips for a frying temperature of 80 C.

40 Fat content (%) 35 30 25 20 15 10 5

Fat content (%)

T = 80 C T = 100 C T = 120 C 30 40

v = 0.040 MPa v = 0.020 MPa v = 0.0050 MPa

0 10 20 30 40

Frying time (min)

Figure 4 The effect of frying temperature on the fat content of carrot chips during vacuum frying at 0.020 MPa.

Frying time (min)

Figure 6 Effect of vacuum absolute pressure (v) on the fat content of carrot chips for a frying temperature of 80 C.

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water because of the presence of some solutes. At the same frying temperature, lower vacuum absolute pressure can improve the rate of drying. Process optimization In order to optimize the frying temperature, vacuum pressure and frying time during the frying process, whilst retaining high quality of carrot chips, RSM was used. Texture, moisture content and fat content were the main quality parameters of carrot chips, with frying temperature (X1), vacuum pressure (X2) and frying time (X3) as independent variables and moisture content (Y1), fat content (Y2), breaking force (Y3) as the dependent variables. Fifteen combinations (including three centre points) were performed in random order. The three levels of each of the three independent variables were: frying temperatures (X1) of 90, 105, and 120 C ()1, 0, 1); vacuum pressures (X2) of 0.035, 0.020, and 0.0050 MPa ()1, 0, 1), and frying times (X3) of 10, 15, and 20 min. The coded values of the three independent variables and the results are summarized in Tables 1 and 2 respectively. Data were analysed by the SAS multivariate regression program and could be tted to the following equation. Y a0 a1 X1 a2 X2 a3 X3 a11 X2 a22 X2 1 2 a33 X2 a12 X1 X2 a13 X1 X3 a23 X2 X3 1 3 The regression coecients and analysis of variance of carrot chips are listed in Table 3. The high R2 determination coecients (0.957, 0.943 and 0.938) indicate that the variables were adequately tted to the regression equation. When frying time (X3) is xed (X3 0), the surface plots of moisture content (Y1), fat content (Y2) and breaking force (Y3) of vacuum fried carrot chips as aected by frying temperature (X1) and vacuum absolute pressure (X2) are shown in Fig. 7. Moisture and fat content The moisture content (Y1) of carrot chips was signicantly (P < 0.05) aected by X1, X2, X3 and X3 X3, and the fat content (Y2) was signicantly (P < 0.05) aected by X1, X2 and

Table 2 The results of response surface analysis of the variation of moisture content (Y1), fat content (Y2) and breaking force (Y3) with frying temperature (X1), vacuum absolute pressure (X2) and frying time (X3) X1 )1 )1 1 1 0 0 0 0 )1 1 )1 1 0 0 0 X2 )1 1 )1 1 )1 )1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X3 0 0 0 0 )1 1 )1 1 )1 )1 1 1 0 0 0 Y1 (%) 4.21 1.86 2.98 1.12 5.01 2.34 4.37 1.28 5.41 3.12 2.15 1.97 2.21 2.37 2.18 Y2 (%) 29.38 35.31 34.15 39.82 28.63 34.97 30.15 38.73 28.77 33.54 35.67 37.13 35.65 34.93 34.27 Y3 (g) 1094 423.1 531.9 270.7 976 505.4 551.2 288.6 721.4 461.2 421.1 383.1 398.7 400.2 406.2

Table 3 The coefcients of regression (eqn 1) Coefcients a0 a1 a2 a3 a11 a22 a33 a12 a13 a23 R2 Y1 2.25 )0.56* )0.74** )1.27*** 0.10 0.19 0.81* 0.12 0.53 )0.11 0.957 Y2 34.95 1.94** 2.11** 3.18** 0.19 )0.47 )1.36 )0.065 )0.83 0.56 0.943 Y3 401.70 )126.58* )196.70** )138.97** 47.29 130.91* 47.69 102.43 55.54 52.01 0.938

*P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001.

X3 (Table 3). The moisture content (Y1) of carrot chips decreased with increasing frying temperature (X1), frying time (X3) and decreasing vacuum pressure (X2) (Fig. 8ac). The fat content increased with increasing frying temperature, frying time and decreasing vacuum pressure (Fig. 8df). Carrot chips were more stable during storage if the moisture content was below 3% and the fat content was below 35% (Feng, 2001). As shown in the contour plots, when X3 was xed at 15 min (X3 0), the moisture content of carrot chips decreased to below 3% and the fat content was below 35% for a frying temperature of 100110 C and a vacuum pressure of 0.010

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0.020 MPa (X2 0), for a frying temperature of below 91.5 C and a frying time of <15 min, the moisture content was above 3%; however, the fat content was above 35% when the frying temperature was above 110 C and the frying time was more than 18 min. Evidently, high quality carrot chips could be obtained at a frying temperature of 100110 C, a vacuum absolute pressure of 0.0100.020 MPa and a frying time of 15 min. Frying under these conditions gives a moisture content of below 3% and a fat content of around 35%. Breaking force During frying, most of the water was removed from the carrot slices resulting in texture changes. The texture value may reect the crispness of the carrot chips. In this paper, the breaking force (g) was found to be an indicator of the crispness of the carrot chips, with lower breaking force corresponding to higher crispness. As shown in Table 3, the breaking force was signicantly (P < 0.05) aected by X1, X2, X3 and X2 X2. The breaking force was reduced to below 400 g when the frying temperature was above 100 C, the vacuum pressure was <0.020 MPa and the frying time was 15 min (Fig. 8gi). The contour plots of moisture content and breaking force showed that the breaking force decreased with decreasing moisture content. When the moisture content of the carrot chips was below 2%, its breaking force was reduced to below 400 g.
Conclusions
Figure 7 The surface plots of moisture content (Y1, %), fat

content (Y2, %) and breaking force (Y3, g) of vacuum fried carrot chips as aected by frying temperature (X1), and vacuum absolute pressure (X2). (The coded values of the independent variables are given in Table 1).

0.020 MPa. When X1 was xed at 105 C (X1 0), for a frying time of less than 15 min and a vacuum pressure of above 0.035 MPa, the moisture content was above 3%; However, the fat content was above 35% when the frying time was more than 18 min and the vacuum pressure was below 0.020 MPa. When X2 was xed at

During vacuum frying, the moisture content and the breaking force decreased with decreasing vacuum pressure and increasing frying temperature and frying time, while the fat content increased. RSM analysis showed that the frying temperature, vacuum pressure and frying time signicantly (P < 0.05) aected moisture content, fat content and breaking force. Using the fat content and breaking force as indicators of carrot chips quality; the optimum quality conditions were a vacuum frying temperature of 100 110 C, a vacuum pressure of 0.0100.020 MPa and a frying time of 15 min.

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(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

(g)

(h)

(i)

Figure 8 The contour plots of moisture content (Y1, %), fat content (Y2, %) and breaking force (Y3, g) of vacuum fried carrot chips as aected by frying temperature (X1), vacuum absolute pressure (X2) and time (X3). (The coded values of the independent variables are given in Table 1).

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Jiangsu Province Science and Technology Bureau and Zhejiang Haitong Food Group Company, China for supporting the research work. Thanks are given to Prof. Arun S. Mujumdar of the National University of Singapore for benecial discussion.
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