Comparison of conventional frying and microwave frying of beef patty: effect on oil absorption, texture, physical and chemical properties

A comparative study was performed to evaluate the effect of conventional and microwave frying on the quality attributes (moisture, fat, textural properties, colour, and cooking yield) of the beef patty. Experiments were conducted by cooking the beef patties using conventional and microwave frying in two different types of oil (palm oil and corn oil). Two microwave power levels were used (50% and 70%). Microwave frying beef patty showed a significant difference in terms of moisture content, hardness, lightness (L*) and also cooking yield compared to conventional frying. The oil absorption can be reduced when the beef patty was cooked using a microwave. Beef patty fried with the highest microwave power level (70%) by using corn oil has the least oil absorption (18.44±1.04%). The theory of higher moisture loss higher oil uptake does not correspond in this experiment since low-fat content were observed as the moisture decreased for all the beef patties fried using a microwave. Analysis of the hardness of beef patty showed that microwave frying beef patty (corn oil) at a power level of 50% (MF 50%) has the hardest texture (35.48±2.10 kg). Microwave frying beef patty has a lower cooking yield (56.05±2.23 to 71.30±0.89%) compared to conventional frying (86.12±0.45 to 88.60±0.04%). It is also found that there was no significant effect of type of cooking oil on the quality attributes of fried beef patties while different frying techniques were observed to affect the quality of patty