Food Frying

14The Future of Food Frying

14.1 Introduction

Fried foods are the most popular food items consumed across the globe, due to their specific taste, sensory characteristics, colour, and acceptability. Consumption of fried foods is increasing by the day. It has been observed that since 2011, the consumption of fried chicken has increased significantly in the United States (Statista 2018). This shows that fried foods are still the item of choice both at home and in restaurants. Restaurants use specialized fryer systems to prepare foods of acceptable quality. During frying, newly formed oxidized compounds enter the food matrix as part of oil uptake, where they are likely to be consumed.

14.2 Current Strategies

The science of frying has been subject to severe scrutiny in recent years due to the discovery of hazardous compounds affecting the quality of foods and consumer health. Since fried food consumption is associated with several chronic diseases and health conditions, including obesity, diabetes, cancers, and cardiovascular disease, the main purpose of current research is to obtain fried foods of the highest quality with the fewest negative effects.

14.2.1 Improving Frying

There has been tremendous growth in research into the improvement of food frying. Frying should be safe, easy, cost‐effective, and healthy. Rossell (2001) showed us how to improve the quality of fried foods. However, a lot of research is still needed to resolve the important issues pertaining to the quality of foods ...