The effects of deep fat frying and oven baking on mass transfer (moisture loss and oil uptake), color and textural characteristics of chicken nuggets were studied. Deep fat frying was performed at three oil temperatures, namely 150, 170 and 190°C. The frying times were 1, 2, 3 and 4 min. Oven baking was accomplished at three temperature levels: 200, 220, and 240°C, and the baking times were 10, 15, 20 and 25 min. / Moisture content of the breading portion of the fried chicken nuggets decreased following a typical drying curve and ranged from 0.90 to 0.22 g/g (db), while the moisture content of the core portion of the chicken nuggets decreased almost linearly and ranged from 1.96 to 1.4 g/g (db). Fat contents of the breading and core portions increased linearly with time. Generally, frying temperature significantly affected the moisture contents of the breading and core. It also affected the fat content of the core but not that of the breading. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

The goal of this research was to investigate the influence of the degree of hydrogenation of frying oil on quality and textural changes in chicken nuggets during deep-fat frying. Thermal stabilities of the frying oils were also studied. The frying oil consisted of blends of hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated oils mixed at different ratios. Physical and textural attributes of the products, as well as the moisture and fat contents, were measured at various frying times. Oil samples were withdrawn at different times and analyzed for colour, free fat acid (FFA) content, viscosity and dielectric properties. Physical and textural properties of chicken nuggets were influenced by frying time and the degree of oil hydrogenation. The experimental data, for changes in the properties of both flying oil and fried product, was adequately described using first order reaction kinetics. Increasing frying time decreased product lightness whereas chroma and hardness values increased. Frying in oils with higher degrees of hydrogenation resulted in products with lighter and harder (more crispy) texture. Products fried in non-hydrogenated oil absorbed more oil but also retained more moisture compared to samples fried in hydrogenated oil. The rate of change in the colour parameters of oils was observed to increase with increasing frying time and the degree of hydrogenation. The chroma values of the oils increased when frying time increased and degree of hydrogenation decreased. The viscosity of oil tended to increase with increasing degree of hydrogenation. The FFA content and dielectric constant of the frying oils correlated with frying time and degree of hydrogenation.

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The application of visible/near-infrared hyper-spectral analysis to monitor the quality of frying oil and fried breaded chicken nuggets was investigated. / Partial least squares (PLS) calibration models were developed to predict the acid value, total polar components and viscosity of heated oils with different ratios of hydrogenation. Coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE) were calculated to assess the performance of each model. Results of the study demonstrated good prediction ability of the calibration models for the quality parameters with R2 values of over 0.92. / The second study was based on developing calibration models for prediction of moisture and fat contents of fried breaded chicken nuggets with different levels of moisture and fat contents. Performing the same procedure for evaluation of the PLS calibration models, results of the study demonstrated that moisture and fat contents of fried breaded chicken nuggets could be predicted with R2 values of 0.92.

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