Olive Oil Benefits from Sesame Oil Blending While Extra Virgin Olive Oil Resists Oxidation during Deep Frying

Fresh potatoes were deep-fried in olive oil (OO), extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), and their blends with 5%, 10%, and 20% v/v sesame oil (SO). This is the first report on the use of sesame oil as a natural source of antioxidants during olive oil deep frying. The oil was evaluated for anisidine value (AV), free fatty acids (FFAs), extinction coefficient (K(232) and K(270)), Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), and total phenols (TPs) until the total polar compounds (TPCs) reached 25%. Sesame lignan transformations were monitored through reversed-phase HPLC. While the TPCs in olive oils increased at a steady rate, the addition of 5%, 10%, and 20% v/v SO delayed TPCs’ formation for 1, 2, and 3 h, respectively. The addition of 5%, 10%, and 20% v/v SO increased the olive oil frying time by 1.5 h, 3.5 h, and 2.5 h, respectively. The addition of SO to OO reduced the secondary oxidation products’ formation rate. The AV for EVOO was lower than OO and all tested blends, even those with EVOO. EVOO was more resistant to oxidation than OO, as measured by the TPCs and TEAC, while the frying time rose from 21.5 to 25.25 h when EVOO replaced OO. The increase in frying time for OO but not for EVOO, after SO addition, points to a niche market for EVOO in deep frying.