In this study, the oil uptake and fatty acid composition of fried potato slices were determined. Some pre-treatments such as blanching, freezing, and blanching-freezing were applied to potato slices before frying while the untreated samples were used as a control. The frying process was carried out in sunflower and olive oils. The percentage oil uptake in slices varied from 4.26% to 10.35% when fried in sunflower oil. In the case of the control samples slices fried in olive oil contained high monounsaturated fatty acid (oleic acid) content (5.45%), and lesser oil uptake was observed than those processed in sunflower oil, which is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acid (linoleic acid is 5.99%) (p < 0.05). The oil uptake was also compared in the case of potato slices fried in two different oils after pre-treatments. The maximum oil uptake was observed in the case of blanched-frozen potatoes, whereas minimum oil uptake was observed in frozen only slices for both oils. The fatty acid contents in oils extracted from fried potato slices showed that the predominant fatty acids were palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic acids. The best results were observed in frozen potato slices fried in both sunflower and olive oils.
Keywords: fatty acid composition; fried potatoes; frying; oil uptake; olive oil; sunflower oil.