Use of a combined process of osmotic dehydration and deep-fat frying to obtain mango chips from the cultivar Tommy Atkins.
Torezan G. A. P., Favareto P. C., Pallet D., Menezes H. C. de, Reynes M.
Author Affiliation: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos, Unicamp, Campinas, Brazil.
: 285-291
Abstract : Mangoes cv. Tommy Atkins, sucrose syrup (65°Brix) and palm oil were used in this study. The effect of mango slice thickness, with and without skin, on oil absorption and moisture content of the final product was investigated. Mango slices subjected to osmotic dehydration (under vacuum and atmospheric pressure) were evaluated for weight reduction, water loss, solute gain, moisture and oil contents, colour, and sensory properties. The physicochemical properties (total solids, moisture content, ascorbic acid, total lipids) of raw mangoes, pre-dehydrated slices and deep-fat fried mango chips were also determined. The results showed that mango chips with lower moisture content, resulting in crispier products, were obtained from 2-mm slices with and without skin or 3-mm slices with skin. The latter samples were defined for the remaining trials. Both types of osmotic dehydration produced similar values for weight reduction and water losses. However, solute gain was significantly (P0.05) much greater under atmospheric pressure. In general, osmotic dehydration under atmospheric pressure resulted in better quality chips, with low moisture content, no significant differences for oil uptake and vitamin C content, and higher values for colour parameters indicating lighter, more intense yellow chips. The chips pre-dehydrated under atmospheric pressure were significantly more preferred (P=0.05) with respect to all the attributes except aroma, in which case the preference was not significant.