The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of a phenolic extract from olive mill waste water on the stabilization of refined olive oil and on French fry quality during the frying process. Frozen, pre-fried potatoes were fried at 180 °C for 8 min in refined olive oil enriched by different concentrations of a phenolic extract, while oil enriched by a common synthetic antioxidant (butylated hydroxytoluene) was used for comparison. The whole frying process took six hours. The phenolic extract has revealed as a very promising oil stabilizing agent during frying, playing an important role (dose-dependent) in preserving the antioxidants both in oil and in food, in reducing the formation of unwanted compounds (acrolein and hexanal), and in contrasting the acrylamide production. These results clearly show that the phenolic extract can be used as a source of natural antioxidants to replace (or avoid) synthetic additives in foods or beverages.
Keywords: French fry quality; Frying process; Oil thermodegradation; Phenolic extract; Virgin olive oil co-products.
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