Original research articleEffect of different home-cooking methods on acrylamide formation in pre-prepared croquettes

•Browning and acrylamide content in ready-to-eat croquettes were studied.•The effects of heating domestic methods on acrylamide formation was studied.•Roasting, pan-frying, deep-frying and microwave treatment were used.•The highest acrylamide content was found when microwave heating was used.•Microwave heating of carbohydrate-rich food should be limited by consumers.

This study compared the effects of different heating methods such as roasting, pan-frying, deep-frying and microwave treatment on the formation of acrylamide (AA) in ready-to-eat croquettes. The experiment was performed with ten commercially available pre-cooked flour-based croquettes with meat filling for home-cooking reheated according to the information on the labels. The AA content was determined by the reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method coupled to a diode array detector (DAD). Browning development and water activity along with free asparagine and sugar content were also monitored. Before preparation, all products showed the lowest (190 μg/kg) acrylamide content. The highest acrylamide content was found when microwave heating was used. The mean AA content in all samples prepared in this way was significantly higher (420 μg/kg) than that of roasting (360 μg/kg), deep-frying (298 μg/kg) or pan-frying (285 μg/kg) (p < 0.05). The manner in which heat is transmitted to a food appears to have a significant impact on the rate of acrylamide formation. Among the domestic methods used, microwave treatment was more favourable for AA formation in products. The use of microwave heating for thermal processing of carbohydrate-rich food should be limited by consumers to prevent excessive acrylamide formation.