Introducing degummed water-extracted wild almond oil as a safe vegetable oil through the quality evaluation of par-fried potato sticks and oil thermo-oxidative stability during a continuous prolonged deep-fat frying process

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety of degummed water-extracted wild almond oil as a frying medium. Changes in the physicochemical properties of the oil as well as those of the fried potato sticks were evaluated over 10 h of frying at 180°C. Compared to a reference commercial frying oil, free fatty acid content, smoke point, anisidine value, conjugated dienes concentration, total polar compounds, color index, and viscosity did not change significantly during the frying process. French fries prepared during the 10 h of frying in the wild almond oil indicated lower fat levels than those prepared in the commercial frying oil. This can contribute to the well-being of the consumers as well as to the cost-efficiency of the process. The color indices are additional quality measures for the fried products that were similar for potatoes fried in both oil sources indicating the safe application of water-extracted wild almond oil for frying purposes. The application of water-extracted wild almond oil for frying purposes is found to be a safe process to consider in future frying applications.