Vacuum frying of high-quality fruit and vegetable-based snacks

Sweet potato, green beans, Tommy Atkins mango, and blue potato were fried in a vacuum frying process at a temperature of 120–130 ± 1°C. Before frying, green beans and mango slices were soaked in a 50% maltodextrine 0.15% citric acid solution. The products were also fried in a traditional (atmospheric pressure) fryer at 160–165 ± 1°C for 4 min. A 30-member consumer panel rated the sensory quality of both types of fried snacks using a 1–9 hedonic scale. Compared with traditional frying, oil content of vacuum-fried sweet-potato chips and green beans was 24% and 16% lower, respectively. Blue potato and mango chips had 6% and 5% more oil, respectively, than the traditional-fried samples. Anthocyanin (mg/100 g d.b.) of vacuum-fried blue potato chips was 60% higher. Final total carotenoids (mg/g d.b.) were higher by 18% for green beans, 19% for mango chips, and by 51% for sweet-potato chips. Sensory panelists overwhelmingly preferred (p < 0.05) the vacuum-fried products for color, texture, taste, and overall quality. Most of the products retained or accentuated their original colors when fried under vacuum. The traditional-fried products showed excessive darkening and scorching. These results support the applicability of vacuum frying technology to provide high-quality fruit and vegetable snacks.