Physical, Chemical and Sensory Characterization of Deep-Fried Fresh-Cut Potatoes Coated with Hydrocolloid/Herbal Extracts

RESEARCH BACKGROUND: Recently, natural plant extracts have been used to increase the nutritional value of food and to potentially reduce the absorbed fat and the formation of acrylamide in fried foods. Literature data on the use of edible polymers with nettle or olive leaf extracts are scarce. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: The effect of novel coatings on colour, fat absorption, phenolic and sugar content, and acrylamide formation in deep-fat-fried fresh-cut potatoes was evaluated. Extracts of olive and nettle leaves were incorporated in carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and gum arabic, used as coatings for potatoes and applied before frying. This aimed to improve the nutritional quality of deep-fat-fried fresh-cut potatoes. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Enrichment of the edible coatings with extracts resulted in a significant change in the visible colour of the potatoes before frying. Significant effect of the extract amount on the sensory characteristics of potatoes was also observed. Most importantly, the perception of characteristic potato odour and taste was not significantly affected by the coating. Although higher amounts of the extract (1.5%) resulted in higher phenolic mass fraction in fried potatoes, the sensory scores decreased. After frying, fat mass fraction in the coated potatoes was reduced by about 15% compared to the uncoated samples. The type of extract affected the total sugar mass fraction in fried potatoes, which was lower in the samples with coatings enriched with olive leaf than in those with nettle leaf. Only gum arabic coating had a reducing effect on acrylamide mass fraction by 17%. Based on all the obtained results, CMC and gum arabic coatings did not influence sensory properties, so they can be recommended as carriers of functional compounds or as a frying pre-treatment for potatoes with favourable effect on fat and acrylamide content. NOVELTY AND SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTION: The knowledge obtained in this study can be exploited for preparation of coatings with functional compounds used as a pre-treatment for fried food with favourable effect on fat and acrylamide content.