Screening of hydrocolloids for reduction in oil uptake of a model deep fat fried product

Reduction of oil content in deep fat fried foods would be welcome by both the food manufacturers and the consumers. Among the many approaches that have been evaluated for this purpose, use of hydrocolloid additives is believed to be most promising. Work in this area is restricted mostly to cellulose derivatives. The mechanism of action of these derivatives is attributed to formation of an oil resistant barrier film, an alteration in surface hydrophobicity of the product being fried, and the thermal gelation. However, most hydrocolloids would alter the surface hydrophobicity, and many of them have the ability to form films. Furthermore, the presence of other food constituents can alter all these properties. Hence, hydrocolloids at 0.25— 2.00 % (on the basis of chickpea flour) were screened for their ability to reduce oil uptake in sev, a model deep fat fried product prepared from chickpea flour. Results obtained indicate that the ability to reduce oil uptake in this product decreases in the following order: gum arabic > carrageenan > gum karaya > guar gum > carboxymethylcellulose > hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose. Hydrocolloids such as xanthan, gum ghatti, gum tragacanth, and locust bean gum were found to be ineffective (<10 % reduction in the oil content) for this purpose.