Consequences of microwave heating and frying on the lipid fraction of chicken and beef hamburgers

Two types of commercial meat patties were analyzed to evaluate the effect of two applied cooking methods on the lipid fraction and the cholesterol oxidation process during heating. Microwave heating hardly modified the fatty acid profiles of both chicken and beef patties, whereas frying in olive oil increased oleic and eicosapentaenoic acids and decreased linoleic and docosahexaenoic acids in both types of products. Frying improved the omega6/omega3 fatty acids ratio in beef patties from 10.67 (raw) to 5.37 (fried). Total cholesterol oxidation product (COP) increments were 5.3-6.1-fold with microwave heating and 1.5-2.6-fold with frying. Chicken patties, raw and cooked, had a COP content twice as high as the corresponding beef ones