Effect of different pre-treatments on the physical properties, frying kinetics and organoleptic physiognomies of fried sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) chips

The study explored the effects of different pre-treatments: freezing pre-treatment (FP), osmotic dehydration (OSD) and air-drying pre-treatments (ADP) on the physical and quality properties of fried sweet potato. The physical and quality properties of pre-treated fried sweet potato slices were assessed for percentage weight loss after frying, shrinkage ratio, the kinetics of moisture loss (frying kinetics), organoleptic properties and mathematical modeling of fried sweet potato slices. The results showed that OSD of pre-treated fried sweet potato slices recorded the highest percentage weight loss (46 %) and lowest shrinkage ratio (19 %) after frying compared to the ADP (41.5 %, 36 %) and FP (36.5 %, 46 %) fried sweet potato samples, respectively. OSD pre-treated fried sweet potato preserved the sensory properties of the ADP and FP fried sweet potato compared to the untreated sample. Among the three pre-treatments, OSD was found to enhance the frying kinetics compared to the ADP and FP samples. First order model best fitted well to the experimental results of frying kinetics (R2 > 0.99) compared to Page model.