Gel‐strength in Restructured Potato Products Affects Oil Uptake during Deep‐fat frying

A controllable food system consisting of a restructured potato product was employed to study the effect of gel‐strength on oil uptake. Water loss and oil uptake were affected markedly by gel‐strength. Oil uptake decreased as gel‐strength increased. The oil uptake ratio, U R′ (weight ratio of the oil uptake to the water evaporated during frying) was utilized to assess the effectiveness of reducing oil absorption during frying. This criterion was useful for comparison of restructured potato products with different initial or final moisture contents.