Effect of Okra mucilage and CMC on the oil uptake and physicochemical properties of potato chips during deep-fat frying

In this study, the effect of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), okra mucilage and the mixture of these two hydrocolloids as coatings (in 0.5, 1 and 1.5% levels) was investigated on the moisture content, oil uptake, coating ratio, frying efficiency, hardness, color indexes and sensory properties of French fries. The results showed that the French fries coated with a 1.5% coating mixture absorbed the least amount of oil. The color indexes of the French fries slices containing CMC coatings were better than the slices containing okra mucilage and slices without any coating. Also, the coated samples had a higher moisture content due to the inhibitory effect of the hydrocolloids compared to the control sample. In terms of overall acceptance, the sample containing 1% mixture of coatings obtained a high score. The present study showed that using the mixture of CMC gum and Okra mucilage at 1% level reduced the amount of French fries oil uptake and produced an acceptable product in quality and nutritional value.