Mass Transfer and Volume Changes in French Fries During Air Frying

The production of healthier fried foods requires the adaptation of industrial processes. In this context, air frying is an alternative to deep oil frying to obtain French fries with lower fat content. Kinetic analysis of compositional changes and main fluxes involved in air frying were carried out, and the results were compared to those obtained for deep oil frying. The influence of the type of sample (unpretreated, frozen, or blanched potatoes) was also analyzed. The results showed that oil uptake is much lower in air frying although a much longer processing time is required. Also, water loss and thus the loss of volume were much higher in air frying compared to the conventional process.