Effect of microwave pre-thawing of frozen potato strips on acrylamide level and quality of French fries

The objective of this study was to reduce frying time, and hence acrylamide level of French fries by microwave pre-thawing of frozen potato strips. Effect of this pre-treatment on acrylamide content and quality attributes of French fries was determined. Frozen par-fried potato strips (8.5 x 8.5 x 70 mm) were thawed in a microwave oven prior to final frying in sunflower oil at 170, 180, and 190 degrees C. Potato strips that were final fried without pre-thawing were considered as the control. Acrylamide analysis was performed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method. Microwave pre-thawing of frozen strips reduced the acrylamide level of French fries by 10% (from 17.7 to 15.9 ng/g), 89% (from 72.1 to 8.0 ng/g), and 64% (from 50.5 to 18.4 ng/g) for frying at 170, 180, and 190 degrees C, respectively, in comparison to the control samples. Quality attributes (texture, color, and oil content) of pre-treated strips were found to be comparable to those of the control. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.