Correlation of fatty acid composition of vegetable oils with rheological behaviour and oil uptake

The fatty acid compositions of seven edible vegetable oils were investigated and correlated with their rheological behaviours and the amount of absorbed oils to fried products. All oil samples showed constant viscosity as a function of shear rate, exhibiting Newtonian behaviours. The highest viscosity was observed in hazelnut oil, followed by olive, canola, corn, soybean, sunflower, and grapeseed oils. In addition, a high correlation (R2 = 0.94) demonstrated that the flow behaviours of vegetable oils were positively governed by their major components (18:1 and 18:2 fatty acids). It was also shown that a more rapid change in viscosity with temperature was observed in the oils containing more double bonds (R2 = 0.71). Furthermore, even though the overall tendency was that the potato strips fried in the oils with high viscosity appeared to cause more oil uptake, a significant effect of oil types on oil uptake was not observed.