Comparative assessment of the frying performance of palm olein and sunflower oil during deep-fat frying of Indian battered food products

The present study evaluates the frying performance of palm olein and sunflower oil during deep-fat frying of Indian snacks. Changes in parameters such as free fatty acids (FFA), peroxide value (PV), p-anisidine value (AV), total oxidation as TOTOX value (TV), dienes, and trienes value together with colour, were evaluated after deep frying of fried products, namely aloo pakora, onion pakora, bread pakora, boondi, and meduvada. The FFA and PV after frying were 0.12 ± 0.01 and 1.16 ± 0.07, 0.13 ± 0.02 and 1.3 ± 0.01, 0.66 ± 0.01 and 2.63 ± 0.00, 0.13 ± 0.01 and 1.65 ± 0.05, 0.22 ± 0.01% and 0.92 ± 0.00 meq/kg for fried medium after frying of aloo pakora, onion pakora, bread pakora, boondi, and meduvada fried in palm olein respectively. A similar trend was also observed for AV, TV, CD, and CT, where sunflower oil showed higher deterioration upon frying than palm olein. The changes in fatty acids profile showed significant change in sunflower oil, evidenced by increased saturated fatty acids and decreased unsaturated fatty acids. The colour also increased significantly for both oil after frying, depicting the buildup of oxidative by-products in the frying medium. The prospect of palm olein for frying various Indian snacks is prominent owing to its thermal resistance and techno-economic benefits over sunflower oil.