Thermal sensitivity of some plantain micronutrients during deep-fat frying

The impact of deep-fat frying on the micronutrient content of plantain (Musa AAB "barraganete") was evaluated during processing of plantain chips called "tostones." Water content, micronutrients (potassium, Lascorbic acid, ?-carotene, ?-carotene) content, and the temperature within the food were quantified during the course of frying. A nonisothermal kinetics analysis of the 1st-order reaction (micronutrient degradation) induced by deep-fat frying, particularly in terms of the spatial distribution of temperature, was proposed. The kinetic parameters (pre-exponential factor k0, activation energy Ea) were identified by nonlinear optimization, minimizing the residual variance between the experimental and theoreticalmicronutrient content. Agreement between model and experimental valueswas checked.During 1st and 2nd frying, potassium waswell retainedwhile carotenoid contents decreased significantly. Moreover, L-ascorbic acid contents decreased significantly, just during 2nd frying. k0 was identified as well as Ea observed for L-ascorbic acid, ?-carotene, and ?-carotene as 68.4 to 71.5 , 79.6 to 84.9, and 85.9 to 88.6 kJ/mol, respectively. ?-carotene appeared to be more heat-resistant than ?-carotene and L-ascorbic acid. The behavior of the nutritional markers appears to be the consequence of the thermal and hydric histories of the crust and of the heart of the plantain disk related to heat transfer during preparation of the "tostones." (Résumé d'auteur