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Journal of Food Engineering 106 (2011) 298305

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Journal of Food Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jfoodeng

Effects of vacuum frying on structural changes of bananas

Ram Yamsaengsung , Thaworn Ariyapuchai, Kulchanat Prasertsit
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla 90112, Thailand

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
Effects of oil temperature, frying time, and ripeness on dimensional changes of vacuum fried bananas were studied. Banana slices with cross section diameters of 2530 mm and a thickness of 3.54.5 mm were fried at temperatures of 100, 110, and 120 C and 8 kPa for 20 min to determine which temperature produced the highest degree of expansion. Using this temperature, the width and thickness of the product were measured at 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 min to model the dimensional changes as a function of moisture ratio. Sensory evaluation was conducted using a 7-point hedonic scale test to determine the effect of ripeness on acceptability of the product. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to analyze the structure of the vacuum fried bananas. The experimental results under this vacuum pressure revealed that frying temperature of 110 C on bananas at the second day of ripeness yielded the highest volume expansion. Sensory evaluations did not unveil any signicant difference (p > 0.05) in acceptability of the products based on ripeness. Results from SEM exhibited, as a function of frying time, a dramatic increase in the pore size of the bananas, while the Heywood shape factor indicated an overall increase in the product volume. 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 21 May 2010 Received in revised form 8 May 2011 Accepted 11 May 2011 Available online 19 May 2011 Keywords: Vacuum frying Modeling Structure Expansion Heywood shape factor Banana ripeness

1. Introduction Besides drying and atmospheric frying, a popular technique for snack food processing is vacuum frying. Due to associated lower frying temperature, vacuum frying has many advantages compared to typical deep-fat frying, such as reduced oil absorption, preservation of natural color and avor of fresh fruits, as well as loss minimization of vitamins and minerals (Garayo and Moreira, 2002; Yamsaengsung and Rungsee, 2003; Yamsaengsung et al., 2008). Consequently, a number of researchers have investigated optimum vacuum frying conditions and quality of snack products in recent years. These include apples (Shyu and Hwang, 2001), potato chips (Garayo and Moreira, 2002), and other types of fruits and vegetables (Da Silva and Moreira, 2008). During drying and frying processes, heat from ambient media is convected to the product surface and then conducted to its interior, increasing its temperature. Moisture evaporates as the product reaches its boiling-point temperature. This process is generally considered a Stefan-type heat transfer problem which is characterized by the presence of a moving interface that divides two regions of physical and thermal properties (Farkas et al., 1996a). During drying and the early stages of frying, there is shrinkage of the product due to microstructural stresses induced by migration of free water from the porous region to the surface of the food material and hence collapsing of the skin surface (Ratti, 1994; Achanta
Corresponding author. Tel.: +66 7 428 7291; fax +66 7 455 8833.
E-mail address: ram.y@psu.ac.th (R. Yamsaengsung). 0260-8774/$ - see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2011.05.016

and Okos, 2000; Panyawong and Devahastin, 2007). At the same time, casehardening may also retard the degree of shrinkage due to formations of rigid layers in the product perimeter (Nimmol et al., 2007). Many researchers have investigated the inuence of the initial moisture content of the material and various drying processes on the shrinkage of food products (Ratti, 1994; Maskan, 2001; Kraisheh et al., 2004; Panyawong and Devahastin, 2007; Nimmol et al., 2007; Sawasdisevi et al., 2009). Mostly, shrinkage of the product is reported as the change as a function of the moisture content of the material. While many quantify shrinkage in terms of the change in volume at any instant to its original volume (V/V0), drying causes changes in the shape of the product as well as the volume. Therefore, the change in volume alone does not adequately represent the overall deformation of the product (Panyawong and Devahastin, 2007). Porous media has uneven pore sizes, so when moisture is removed from these pores, the material shrinks non-uniformly, resulting in an uneven product surface and irregular thickness and diameter. Ratti (1994) proposed shrinkage to be a function of moisture content, geometry of the product and the drying conditions imposed. Various drying conditions such as low pressure superheated steam drying (LPSSD) and vacuum drying result in different degrees of shrinkage (Panyawong and Devahastin, 2007). However, unlike drying, frying causes the product to undergo signicant chemical and physical changes (Moreira et al., 1995; Farkas et al., 1996a,b; Yamsaengsung and Moreira, 2002a,b). For example, a soft piece of tortilla our becomes hard and crispy and a soggy piece of potato slice becomes a dried, crunchy potato

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chip. While a product is being fried, many physical changes take place, such as hardening, shrinkage, and pufng. The pufng phenomenon can be described as followed. As the crust region is being formed in the latter stages of frying, diffusion of air and water vapor from the product interior becomes limited due to casehardening and closing of the pores at the product surface. At the same period, pressure buildups from gaseous expansion inside the viscoelastic material create insurmountable internal stresses, causing the material to expand in axial direction. The increase in the pore size and the porosity of the nal product created by this expansion is directly related to crispness and acceptability of the fried snack foods. For example, potato chips and tortilla chips have very porous and crispy structures after undergoing the frying process. While previous researchers investigated the effects of vacuum frying on nal product characteristics such as hardness and crispness, none have investigated dimensional changes in terms of volumetric expansion of the product during the vacuum frying process. Therefore, this research was aimed to investigate various factors that may inuence expansion of the fried materials, such as starch content and frying conditions. Prediction of such changes as a function of moisture content and temperature during vacuum frying would be useful in predicting the nal product quality for snack food manufacturers worldwide. Baik and Mittal (2005) studied the effects of temperature and moisture content on the thickness of tofu during deep fat frying at 147, 160, and 172 C. The researchers developed a model based on convective heat and mass transfer that yielded good results for changes in temperature, moisture content, and shrinkage of the product. Mayor and Sereno (2004) also investigated shrinkage and dimensional changes of dried foods and concluded that these physical changes imposed a signicant effect on the product quality. In addition, they also used a set of empirical models from previous researchers to describe the dimensional changes of food products, including apples, carrots, potatoes, and garlic. Panyawong and Devahastin (2007) described shrinkage of food products using Heywood shape factor. They dried carrots that have been diced into cubes using low-pressure superheated steam drying (LPSSD) and vacuum drying. From their study, the researchers concluded that the Heywood shape factor corresponded reasonably well with deformation kinetics of the carrot cube as observed visually. If the value of the Heywood shape factor remains near its initial value, the change in shape of the material can be considered uniform; however, a value much lower than its initial value indicates that there is more shrinkage in the overall volume of the material compared to shrinkage in the equivalent diameter of the material.

2.2. Methods Gros Michel banana (Musa sapientum L.), or kluauyhomtong in Thai, was used as the tested material in this study. A commercial peel color scale (Chiquita, Brand, Inc.) was employed to assess ripeness of the bananas and to ensure homogeneous samples for each test. Ripe bananas with a color index of 6 (completely yellow peel and tip) were peeled and cut into 3.54.5 mm slices. The cross section diameter of the slices ranged from 25 to 30 mm. The bananas were fried at 100, 110, and 120 C and 8.0 kPa for 20 min. Each batch consisted of 600700 g of the products and was deep-fried in 13.7 L of soybean oil. The soybean oil was replaced after 10 batches of frying to keep the oil fresh although previous research by Ophithakorn and Yamsaengsung (2003) found that cooking oil could be used to vacuum fry up to 30 batches of sh tofu (each batch containing approx. 500 g of product) without exceeding the free-fatty acids (FFA), peroxide value (PV), and the Thiobarbaturic Acid (TBA) limits. The thickness, average diameter, and moisture content of the bananas were measured at 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 min of frying. After each frying time interval, the samples were discarded and new samples were used for each set of experiments. An average value of the thickness and diameter were obtained from a set of 10 random samples using a Vernier Caliper (0.05 mm precision). The percent shrinkage and percent expansion are described by Eqs. (1) and (2):

%shrinkage

  D0 D 100 D0   L L0 100 L0

%expansion

where D and D0 are respectively the end-of-each-test and the original diameters (mm); and L and L0 are respectively the end-of-eachtest and the original thicknesses (mm). The following equations by Panyawong and Devahastin (2007) were used in this study.

ks

V da
3

where ks is the Heywood shape factor, V is the volume of the sample (m3) at the end of each test, da is the equivalent projected area diameter, and

 2   V X X c a b V0 X0 X0

2. Materials and methods 2.1. Vacuum Frying Equipment Fig. 1 depicts the experimental setup consisting of a vacuum fryer, a condenser, a liquid ring vacuum pump (Model ET32030, Nash, Trumbull, CT), and a centrifuge. The vacuum fryer was constructed from stainless steel with a diameter of 400 mm, a height of 300 mm, and a wall thickness of 6 mm. The stainless steel lid of the fryer had a thickness of 8 mm. The condenser and the centrifuge were fabricated and assembled by the Department of Chemical Engineering, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand. The condenser consisted of a 9425 mm long stainless steel tube with an internal diameter of 19.0 mm coiled inside a stainless steel container circulated with cooling water. The vacuum pump was purchased from Kinetics Engineering Co. (Thailand). After frying, the products were centrifuged for 5 min at 450 rpm to remove excess surface oil and to minimize oil absorption.

where V is the volume of the sample (m3) at the end of each test, V0 is the original volume of the sample (m3), X is the moisture content (dry basis), and a, b, c are the empirical coefcients. If the value of the Heywood shape factor remains near its initial value, the change in shape of the material can be considered uniform; however, a value much lower than its initial value will indicate that there is more shrinkage in the overall volume of the material compared to shrinkage in the equivalent diameter of the material. The moisture content at each time interval was obtained by drying the sample in a vacuum oven (Model VOS-300VD, EYELA, Tokyo) at 70 C and 4.0 kPa for 24 h (AOAC, 1990). 2.3. Texture analysis Textural properties of the bananas were analyzed using a Texture Analyzer (Model TA-XT2i, Stable Micro Systems Co., England). The sample was placed on a hollow planar base (Bourne et al., 1978). For fresh samples, a 2 mm spherical probe was set to travel at a speed of 2 mm/s and a traveling distance of 10 mm. For fried samples, a 1=4 in. (approx. 6 mm) diameter probe was used

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Fig. 1. Schematic of the vacuum frying operation (Yamsaengsung and Rungsee, 2003).

at a speed of 1 mm/s and a traveling distance of 4 mm or until the sample cracked. The maximum compression force from the force deformation curve of each sample was considered as an indication of hardness. A total of ten samples were used for each test run. Data were evaluated using the Texture Expert Software (SMS Ltd., Version 1.19, Stable Micro Systems Co., England). 2.4. Structural analysis An SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope, JEOL Model JSM 5800 LV, Tokyo, Japan) was used to observe changes in the pore size and the pore size distribution within the product during vacuum frying. The applied voltage was 10 kV and the magnication was 100. The ImageJ 1.42 Software (National Institutes of Health) was used to determine the number of pore counts along with the average pore size for a particular SEM image. The minimum and maximum pore sizes were also determined along with the standard deviations. 2.5. Effect of ripeness (sugar and starch content) Effect of ripeness, or the amount of sugar content, on the degree of shrinkage and expansion was also studied to determine if there was an optimum sugar content level (which correlates to the amount of starch content) that is necessary for the maximum expansion of the product. High degree of expansion may be related to the crispness of the product. Samples were allowed to ripen for 1, 2, 3, and 4 days at room temperature of 26 2 C and RH of 45 10%. Day 2 was used as the reference ripeness when merchants market their bananas. This is the time when the peel and the stem of the banana bunch were completely yellow (Chiquita peel color index of 6). Day 1 corresponds to the color index of 5 (mostly yellow with green tip), while Day 4 corresponds to peel color level of 7 (overripe with dark spots on peel). Fresh samples were submitted to the Agro-Industry Development Center for Export (ADCET, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand) to obtain total carbohydrate (proximate analysis) and total sugar content (Lane and Eynon). Total carbohydrate (percent) was calculated by subtracting the percentage of moisture content, fat, protein, and ash from 100. The total sugar content was determined in terms of % sucrose of the original sample and was calibrated using a glucose standard curve. The starch content was obtained by subtracting the total amount of carbohydrate by the amount of total sugar content. 2.6. Sensory evaluation To evaluate the acceptability of the product, a hedonic scale test for likeness was used (Peryam and Girardot, 1952; Peryam and

Pilgrim, 1957; Meilgarrd et al., 1999). Since hedonic scales can be considered as interval scales, they can be statistically analyzed using ANOVA (analysis of variance). Even though some researchers have argued that the hedonic scales should be best considered as ordinal scales (Jones et al., 1955; Stroh, 1998), Peryam and Girardot (1952) and Peryam et al. (1960) suggested that parametric analysis was a viable approach on practical grounds (Nicolas et al., 2010). A taste panel consisting of 30 random students and staffs from the campus of the Prince of Songkla University (Thailand) was used. Since Thai people are brought up to display modest emotions in public, words such as like extremely and dislike extremely are often avoided and seldom used. The 7-point hedonic scale test, rather than the 9-point hedonic scale test, was used to reduce the difculty in differentiating of terms like very much (a 7 score) and like extremely (a 9 score) by this particular group of Thai participants. Both 7-point scale and 9-point scale are widely used, and in many instances, a 9-point scale test may be more appropriate (especially for a pre-trained panel). The denition of each score for the 7-point hedonic scale test was 1 = dislike very much, 2 = dislike moderately, 3 = dislike slightly, 4 = neither like nor dislike, 5 = like slightly, 6 = like moderately, and 7 = like very much. The parameters tested were color, texture, taste, crispness, and overall likeness. 2.7. Statistical analysis All experiments were performed in duplicate and the mean values with standard deviations were reported. The experimental data were analyzed using ANOVA. Duncans multiple range test was used to establish multiple comparisons of the mean values; mean values were considered at 95% condence level (p = 0.05). A statistical program SPSS (Version 12) was used to perform all statistical calculations. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Shrinkage and expansion Table 1 presents the experimental results for shrinkage and expansion as a function of frying time for bananas slices fried at 110 C under 8 kPa up to 20 min and Fig. 2 plots the results as a function of frying time. Even though the total frying time for a product can take as short as 90 s for potato chips and as long as 20 min for fried pork meat (Sosa-Morales et al., 2006), these processes take place at 160190 C, while the vacuum frying temperature is from 100 to 120 C. Therefore, the frying conditions, the

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R. Yamsaengsung et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 106 (2011) 298305 Table 1 Dimensional changes as a function of frying time and moisture ratio for T = 110 C and p = 8 kPa. Time 0 5 10 15 20 % Shrinkage 0.00 0.00 10.15 1.49c 2.98 2.53b 1.80 1.25b 1.32 2.91b
a

301

% Expansion 0.00 0.00 20.98 2.14a 1. 92 9.11b 12.80 6.92c 20.50 9.24d
b

X/X0 1.000 0.000 0.278 0.022c 0.047 0.012b 0.023 0.015a 0.019 0.008a
d

V/V0 1.000 0.000 0.636 0.038a 0.922 0.134b 1.088 0.094c 1.173 0.159c
b

L/L0 1.000 0.000b 0.790 0.021a 0.980 0.091b 1.128 0.069c 1.205 0.092d

Values in the same column with different superscripts mean that the values are signicantly different (p < 0.05).

thickness of the product, the property of the foodstuffs, and the desired nal characteristics of the product all directly inuence the total frying time of the product. In this case, frying was carried out for 20 min until the product banana chips were completely crispy (no soft, mushy texture). Additional frying time resulted in undesirable dark colorations of the product. From Table 1, for banana slices fried at 110 C, there is a significant shrinkage in the product diameter during the rst 5 min of frying, indicating a rapid water loss. The moisture content in the product decreased dramatically from 74% (w.b.) to 44% (w.b.). This results correlates with a typical drying process in which water is removed from the porous structure and the cell walls collapse under compressive stress (Demirel and Turhan, 2003; Kraisheh et al., 2004; Panyawong and Devahastin, 2007; Nimmol et al., 2007). However, after approx. 5 min of frying, the degree of shrinkage decreased. Nimmol et al. (2007) suggested that the effect of casehardening (rigid layer) at the product perimeter may retard the degree of shrinkage. In addition, once a crust region began to form at the product surface and its perimeter, the product may have expanded in the axial and radial direction as gaseous vapor expanded, causing a pressure buildup. Similar results can be seen for the thickness expansion of the product. The thickness of the banana chips decreases by nearly 20% after 5 min of frying. Once the crust had been formed and gas pressure buildup occurred inside the product, the product expanded by as much as 20% at the end of the frying process. Yamsaengsung and Moreira (2002b) observed similar effects of pufng due to pressure buildup inside the product for superheated steam drying of tortilla chips. Moreover, from Fig. 2, a frying temperature of 110 C produced the highest degree of expansion. Since there was no signicant difference in the degree of expansion between 110 and 120 C, higher frying temperature would not be necessary for increasing the expansion or the crispness of the product. At the same time, lower frying temperature would also reduce the energy cost of the frying process, as well as minimizing nutritional loss from higher temperature treatment.

3.2. Model tting The empirical models for Mayor and Sereno (2004) and Panyawong and Devahastin (2007) were used to t the results for the vacuum frying of bananas. Changes in thickness (L) and volume (V) can be described by a second order equation using ratios L/L0 and V/V 0 versus moisture content ratio, X/X0. Even though previous results for plantain bananas slices dried at 40 C (Johnson et al., 1998) and whole bananas dried at 50 and 70 C (Queiroz and Nebra, 2001) indicated a linear shrinkage in the diameter of the product, Demirel and Turhan (2003) observed a second order relationship between diameter shrinkage and volume shrinkage for the air-drying of Cavendish bananas at 40 and 70 C. They concluded that the degree of shrinkage depended on specic drying condition. Results for this study are shown in Table 2. While the second order model tted well (R2 of 0.8964 and 0.8406 for L/L0 and V/V0, respectively), the Heywood shape factor model gave an even better representation of the changes in deformation as a function of time (R2 of 0.9881). From Fig. 3, there is a slight decrease in the Heywood shape factor during the rst 10 min of frying indicating an overall volume decrease, followed by a striking increase in the Heywood shape factor to 0.15 after 20 min of frying representing the product expansion. Even though the value of the Heywood shape factor was low compared to previous work (Panyawong and Devahastin, 2007), there was still a signicant increase in the Heywood shape factor from 0.112 (at t = 0 min.) to 0.153 (at t = 20 min.) or a 35.8% increase. In the previous work by Panyawong and Devahastin (2007), the samples were cut into cubes, which meant that both the numerator and the denominator equaled 1.0 before drying. In this work, the samples were cut into thin discs, so the numerator term (V) was small compared to the denominator term (d3). Still, the changes in the values of the Heywood shape factor reected actual deformation of the structure in both axial and radial directions. The models tted above only apply to vacuum frying of bananas at 110 C and does not hold true for other frying conditions. Similar procedures may be conducted to obtain a correlation between water content and deformation of the product. During drying, the product does not undergo a uniform change in dimensions nor volume; therefore, the Heywood shape factor was developed to account for this irregularity. Porous media has uneven size pores, so when water is removed from these pores, the material shrinks non-uniformly, resulting in uneven product

Table 2 Empirical models used and their coefcients for vacuum fried bananas at T = 110 C and p = 8 kPa. Equation L/L0 = k1 k2(X/X0) + k3 (X/X0)2 V/V0 = k1 k2(X/X0) + k3 (X/X0)2 ks = k1 k2 t + k3 t2 Fig. 2. Percent thickness expansion and hardness of vacuum fried banana slices at 100, 110, and 120 C and 8.0 kPa after 20 min of frying. Values in the same data series with different superscripts mean that the values are signicantly different (p < 0.05). k1 1.1616 1.1377 0.1132 k2 1.8584 2.5208 0.0036 k3 1.6977 2.3841 0.0003 R2 0.8406 0.8964 0.9881

Modied from Mayor and Sereno (2004) and Panyawong and Devahastin (2007). L = thickness (mm), V = volume (m3), X = water content (wet basis), t = time (min), and ki = coefcients, ks = Heywood shape factor.

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Fig. 3. The Heywood shape factor for vacuum fried banana slices at 110 C and 8.0 kPa as a function of time.

surface, thickness, and diameter. Both ratios of L/L0 and V/V 0 make reference to the original thickness (L0) and the original volume (V0) while the Heywood shape factor, in contrast, makes reference to its volume at time t versus its projected equivalent diameter at the same time t. Hence, the change in dimension as a function of time for this particular product corresponds better to the equation using the Heywood shape factor.

perature (25 C) and product remained in a rubbery state. However, after 15 min of frying, the lowered moisture content inside the product (X/X0 = 0.023 0.015 or about 6.0% w.b.) helped to increase the Tg above the room temperature, allowing the product to be in a glassy state and become harder as indicated in Fig. 4. Boudhrioua et al. (2002) also observed an increase in hardness (Fp, maximum force applied until perforation) as a function of drying time for air-drying at 40, 60 and 80 C. From Table 3, the effect of temperature on the hardness of the product was not signicant (p > 0.05) as the hardness of the nal product at 100, 110, and 120 C were 10.93 1.28, 12.17 2.29, and 11.27 1.82 N, respectively. In addition, Nimmol et al. (2007) also did not nd any signicant effect of drying temperatures (70, 80, and 90 C) using low-pressure superheated steam drying (LPSSD), low-pressure superheated steam and far-infrared radiation (LPSSD-FIR), and far-infrared radiation under vacuum (VACUUM-FIR) drying on the hardness of dried banana slices (3 mm thick and 30 mm in diameter). The maximum forces required to break the products for the above processes ranged from 16.39 to 24.09 N which were much higher than that found for vacuum frying. Hence, it can be inferred that hardness and crispness of the product are also process dependent. Since samples from the previous research had slightly different geometry compared to this research (3.54.5 mm thick and 2530 mm in diameter), a separate investigation involving these techniques must be made to positively identify signicant differences in the hardness of the samples.

3.3. Textural changes: hardness of the product Fig. 4 depicts the changes in the hardness of the product as a function of frying time (decreasing moisture content). As can be seen, the hardness of the product decreased substantially from 6.14 0.85 to 1.29 0.23 N during the rst 10 min of frying and increased signicantly as the product changed from a rubbery, soggy material to a hard and crispy product after 20 min of frying (12.17 2.29 N). During the rst 10 min of frying, there was a rapid movement of water from within the product toward the product surface. This water mobility caused the product to become rubbery and soggy. At the same time, as the starch granules within the product were exposed to heat, water, and shear stress, they begin to gelatinize, giving structure and a more solid texture to the product. However, after this 10 min of frying, there were still some water inside the product, as indicated in Table 1 (X/X0 = 0.047 0.012 or about 12% w.b.). As a result, even after cooling, the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the product remained lower than the room tem-

3.4. Effect of ripeness on physical and textural changes of the product As banana ripens, the amount of starch decreases as it is hydrolyzed into small sugar molecules of sucrose and maltose (Boudhrioua et al., 2002). The effect of total sugar content on thickness expansion and diameter shrinkage (based on the ripeness of the product) is shown in Table 3. From Table 3, the highest degree of thickness expansion of 20.54 7.24% occurred for products from Day 2. This may indicate the optimum value of starch to sugar content required to produce the highest degree of pufng. Yet, if the product becomes too ripened (may contain some bruises and become mushy), the extent of starch gelatinization and crust formation during the initial stages of frying may be slow, causing lower pressure buildups during the frying process. In addition, Day 3 and Day 4 products also had more shrinkage compared to those of Day 2. This result correlated with previous studies of having higher shrinkage with slower drying rate and slower crust formation of the product (Nimmol et al., 2007). Moreover, with Day 1 representing the least ripened bananas and containing the lowest sugar to starch ratio of 2.90 0.20, its hardness value of 16.51 1.40 N was signicantly higher than those of other days of ripeness. At the same time, it showed less expansion than Day 2 products, indicating a more compact and harder structure as opposed to a crispier, porous structure. This effect can be observed from the SEM pictures. In general, this result corresponded to that of Boudhrioua et al. (2002) who also found that bananas ripened for up to 16 days has a much lower peak force (Fp) or hardness compared to freshly ripened bananas (2 days). From Table 3, even though the % total sugar for Days 2, 3 and 4 products were slightly higher than Day 1 products, these values were not signicantly different from each other. Even though the bananas were all taken from a local banana distributor at the same time with the same extent of ripeness (green tip), there may still have been variations in the chemical compositions of bananas purchased. As a result, the banana samples from Day 3 actually had higher sugar content than those from Day 4. Nonetheless, although no direct correlation could be obtained from this result, a general conclusion could be made that factors such as sugar to

Fig. 4. Hardness of vacuum fried banana slices at 110 C and 8.0 kPa as a function of frying time.

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R. Yamsaengsung et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 106 (2011) 298305 Table 3 Effect of days of ripeness on the percent shrinkage, percent expansion, total sugar content and hardness of vacuum fried bananas fried at T = 110 C and p = 8 kPa. Day 1 2 3 4 % Shrinkage 3.91 3.63 2.88 3.73a 1.25 3.33a 2.81 2.02a
a

303

% Expansion 13.04 7.95 20.54 7.24b 9.64 11.98ab 5.61 7.64a

ab

% Carbohydrate 26.44 0.30 24.18 1.23a 25.16 0.41a 26.06 0.85b

b

% Total sugar 19.75 0.51 21.70 0.63b 20.18 1.54ab 22.04 0.42b
a

Sugar to starch ratio 2.95 0.20 8.75 2.33c 4.05 1.69b 5.48 0.42b
a

Hardness (N) 16.51 1.40d 13.36 1.31c 9.94 1.04a 11.79 1.05b

Values in the same column with different superscripts mean that the values are signicantly different (p < 0.05).

Fig. 5. SEM images of vacuum fried banana slices as a function of frying time at 110 C and 8.0 kPa (100).

starch content can inuence the degree of expansion and crispiness of the product. 3.5. Structural changes In Figs. 5 and 6, SEM images were taken to study the internal structure of the banana slices. Fig. 5 presents the change in the structure of the vacuum fried product as a function of time (T = 110 C). After 5 min of frying, the pores within the product became more compressed and distorted. Previous researchers (Ratti, 1994; Achanta and Okos, 2000; Panyawong and Devahastin, 2007) have contributed this observation to the removal of free water from the cellular structure and the microstructural stresses developed inside the product. However, as frying time increased, there was a gradual increase in the size of pores within the product. This strongly supports the gas vapor expansion inside the product, leading to thickness expansion and pufng. From Table 4 the average pore diameter increased signicantly from 37.84 20.08 lm after 10 min of frying to 84.92 70.16 lm after 15 min of frying. Finally, in Fig. 6 and Table 4, the effects of ripeness on the structure of the fried bananas were compared. Results showed that there were no signicant differences in the average pore diameter for vacuum frying at different temperatures. Moreover, from Table 4, Day 1 products had the highest hardness value because it had the fewest number of pores (less porous than the others), while Day 3 and Day 4 had the lowest hardness values because it had very small, compacted pores. Nimmol et al. (2007) also observed that a dense

structure (smaller and less pores) product has a slightly lower hardness value than those with large pores. 3.6. Sensory evaluation Table 5 shows the result of the sensory evaluation performed for vacuum fried bananas at 110 C under 8 kPa for different days of ripeness. From the results, Day 2 products scored the highest for taste (5.9 0.6), crispness (6.0 0.8), and overall impression (6.0 0.7). However, from statistical analysis, there were no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the scores obtained for color, texture, taste, crispness, and overall impression. Since all products were fried under the same conditions and for the same duration of time (20 min.), the sensory panel did not observe any signicant difference (p > 0.05) in the color of the product. This result indicated that fresh bananas can be stored for up to 4 days after reaching a color index of 5 without showing any signicant difference in the acceptability of the products by this particular group of consumers. In addition, from Table 3, Day 2 products have a lower hardness value than Day 3 and Day 4 products, while it has the highest degree of expansion. These two factors agree with the sensory evaluation of Day 2 products of being the crispiest. The harder the nal product, the more it is associated to being stiff and brittle (Boudhrioua et al., 2002), rather than crispy. Still, a conclusion cannot be made based on that the sensory evaluation that Day 2 product was the most preferred. It is clear that once the bananas have ripened (Day 1), consumers preference for the vacuum fried products leans

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Fig. 6. SEM images of vacuum fried banana slices at 110 C and 8.0 kPa as a function of ripeness (30).

Table 4 Number of pores and average diameter for vacuum fried bananas at various conditions. Samples Number of pores Diameter of pores Average (lm) Effect of frying time* Fresh Bananas 348 5 min. 405 10 min. 275 15 min. 53 20 min. 57 25 min. 72 Effect of Temperature** 100 C* 493 110 C* 347 120 C* 384 Effect of Ripeness*** Day 1 465 Day 2 430 Day 3 615 Day 4 460 33.84 17.06a 32.14 14.36a 37.84 20.08a 84.92 70.16b 73.53 61.69b 62.64 61.33b 58.47 47.72b 79.77 106.58b 58.48 68.25b 61.57 59.35b 76.70 84.61b 65.73 56.28b 69.36 76.60b Min (lm) 19.54 19.54 19.54 19.90 19.90 19.54 21.72 21.72 21.72 21.72 21.72 21.72 21.72 Max (lm) 148.46 129.09 181.01 312.84 260.78 307.27 378.21 809.91 666.26 464.90 549.22 431.23 549.94

more toward like slightly to like moderately as opposed to neither like nor dislike or dislike slightly. Investigations using bananas more ripened than those in this study may provide a better conclusion on the effect of sugar to starch ratio on the nal product characteristics and acceptability. 4. Conclusions In this study, dimensional changes of vacuum fried bananas were modeled using empirical equations and the Heywood shape factor. The thickness and volume ratio of the fried bananas followed a second order model while the Heywood shape factor of the product initially decreased then increased substantially indicating signicant volume expansion. SEM images clearly verify the increase in the pore size of the products due to gas vapor expansion during the frying process. Products ripened for 2 days and fried at 110 C under 8 kPa pressures produced the highest degree of expansion, but sensory evaluations showed that there was no signicant difference in the overall acceptability of the product based on the number of ripened days. Acknowledgement This research was conducted through the auspicious grant of the Graduate School Research Fund from the Prince of Songkla University. References
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Day = day of ripeness, Min = minimum diameter; Max = maximum diameter. Values in the same column with different superscripts mean that the values are signicantly different (p < 0.05). * p = 8 kPa, T = 110 C. ** p = 8 kPa, t = 20 min. *** p = 8 kPa, T = 110 C, t = 20 min.

Table 5 Sensory evaluation based on bananas fried at 110 C and 8 kPa at different days of ripeness. Day 1 2 3 4 Color 5.1 1.3a 5.3 1.1a 5.4 1.1a 5.4 1.1a Texture 5.2 1.1a 5.0 1.1a 4.9 1.1a 4.9 1.0a Taste 5.4 1.2a 5.9 0.6a 5.8 1.0a 5.9 1.1a Crispness 5.6 1.6a 6.0 0.8a 5.6 1.2a 5.8 0.9a Overall impression 5.7 1.2a 6.0 0.7a 5.5 1.0a 5.8 1.0a

Values in the same column with different superscripts mean that the values are signicantly different (p < 0.05).

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