Evaluation of palm olein and high oleic soybean oil blends during batch frying of french fries

Abstract: High oleic soybean (HOSBO) and palm olein (PL) oils were evaluated individually and in 40:60 blend ratio along with high oleic sunflower (HOSFO) to determine frying oil stabilities and the flavor quality of the French fries. French fries were fried in the oils for a total of 30 h. French fries and oils were sampled periodically for sensory data, gas chromatographic volatile compounds, free fatty acids (FFA), peroxide value (PV), anisidine value (AnV), TOTOX (2PV + AnV), induction period (IP), color and total polar compounds (TPC). French fries fried in PL had significantly higher intensities of deep fried flavor than others. Total polar compounds levels decreased with increasing amounts of HOSBO. The oil blend had the lowest overall increase (5.23%) in total polar compounds from 0 to 30 h of frying. The increase in TOTOX for blend oil is slower (55.6%) compared with other oils ( >88.2%) after 30 hr frying. The oil blend showed significantly (P < 0.05) slowest drops in the IP (55.6%) value during frying. The darkening effect after frying was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in HOSBO compared with other oils probably due to higher amount of gamma-tocopherols. Besides, there is no difference (P < 0.05) in the rate of FFA formation between all oils. The results of this study have shown that blending HOSBO with PL in a 40:60 ratio to be more stable in frying application compared to other oils used in this experiment. It showed improved frying performance over HOSBO, HOSFO and PL. Apart from being more stable in high temperature frying application, it also has an added advantage of containing high-oleic (monounsaturated) acid content that has been linked to reduce risk of high cholesterol and heart disease.