Effectiveness of Green Plantain Peel and Pulp Flour Blends as Coating on the Textural Properties and Oil Uptake in Fried Fish Fillets

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of green plantain peel and pulp flour blends as coating on the textural properties and oil uptake of fried fish fillet. Plantain peel flour and plantain pulp flour were mixed in ratios 0:100, 5:95, 10:90, 15:85, 20:80, 25:75, 30:70, 40:60, 50:50 and 100:0% peel: pulp, respectively. Fresh fish fillets were coated with the blends of plantain peel and pulp flour, while the uncoated and samples coated with wheat flour served as controls. The results showed that plantain peel and pulp flour blends affected the textural characteristics of the product significantly (p<0.05). The values of hardness, cohesiveness and springiness varied from 0.80-2.6N, 0.19- 0.43, 0.55-0.92, respectively. The lowest value of hardness was observed in sample coated with 100% peel flour. The flour blends were effective in decreasing oil uptake and moisture loss of fried fish fillets than the control samples. Oil uptake of samples coated with 100% peel flour (9.63 %) was significantly lower (p<0.05) than uncoated (11.49 %). Increasing level of peel flour in the flour blends reduced the oil uptake and moisture loss more effectively than the control sample. Samples coated with plantain peel and pulp flour blends had less shrinkage compared to the uncoated sample. It is concluded that using blends of plantain peel and pulp flour is an effective coating material for fried fish fillet. The plantain peel flour can be incorporated up to 20% in coating formulation without having significant impacton the sensory characteristics on the fried fish fillet.Keywords: Plantain pulp flour, plantain peel flour, quality attributes, deep-fat frying, fish fillets