Pore Development, Oil and Moisture Distribution in Crust and Core Regions of Potatoes During Frying

The mechanism of moisture loss, oil uptake, and pore formation during frying is required to be clarified. The main objective of this study was to evaluate moisture content, oil uptake, and pore development of the crust and core regions of potatoes during frying. Potatoes were fried for 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 min and separated into two parts as crust and core for the analysis of moisture and oil contents, porosity, and pore size distribution. Moisture contents of crust and core parts of fried potatoes were significantly different (p ≤ 0.05). It was about 53.7 % for the crust and 82 % for the core region. On the other hand, oil content of the crust was found to be higher than that of the core region. Porosity and pore size distribution of crust and core regions were significantly different. Crust region of potatoes was less porous as compared to core region through the whole frying time. Larger pores were observed at the core region, especially at longer frying times. The size of the pores increased in both core and crust regions with increasing frying time.