Palm Oil Developments No.60 (June 2014) p10-13, 20-23

Versatility of Palm-based Oils for Industrial Frying

Azmil Haizam Ahmad Tarmizi* and Razali Ismail

Frying is extensively employed in the domestic and industrial sectors to process food. In principle, this cooking technique is essentially a dehydration process that involves rapid heat and mass transfer when the food is immersed into hot oil at a temperature above the boiling point of water. Interaction between the frying oil and the food causes vigorous water vapour release from the product and at the same time, the oil starts to penetrate into the food structure (Bouchon and Pyle, 2004, Dueik et al., 2010). Basically, frying has similar principle as baking where a brownish crust layer is formed on the food surface that contributes to a distinctive fried flavour. However, the former generally cooks faster than the latter, and this can be further explained by the efficiency of heat transfer (Berger, 2005). For this reason, frying has gained popularity to produce highly desirable products possessing novel sensory properties which make the food more palatable and desirable (Ahmad and Ismail, 2007). Furthermore, its operational simplicity, convenience and economic viability have resulted in extensive sales of a large variety of fried products.



Keywords: , , , ,

Author information:
* Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB),
6 Persiaran Institusi, Bandar Baru Bangi,
43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia.
E-mail: azmil_haizam@mpob.gov.my