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Peanut skins are a byproduct of peanut blanching operations and contain high levels of phenolic antioxidants. The effect of solvent type (methanol MeOH, ethanol EtOH, and water), concentration (0, 30, 60, 90%), temperature (30, 45, 60 degrees C), and time (10, 20, 30 min) on total phenolic content (TPC), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) level, and resveratrol content of peanut skins was investigated. Response surface methodology was used to estimate the optimum extraction conditions for each solvent. EtOH extracts had the highest TPC followed by MeOH and water. The maximum predicted TPC under the optimized conditions (30.8%, 30.9 degrees C, 12 min) was 118 mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g of skins. MeOH extracts had the highest ORAC activity of 2149 micromol of TE/g followed by EtOH and water under the optimized conditions of 30% MeOH, 52.9 degrees C and 30 min. Resveratrol was identified in MeOH extracts but was not found in samples extracted with EtOH or water.

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The recent trend in reducing the fat content in fried foods is leading to the development of low-fat products using batter and breading formulations from protein and other hydrocolloids. The functionality of many of these edible ingredients on moisture retention and fat barrier properties during deep-fat frying is not clearly understood. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose edible film coating on chicken balls for moisture retention and fat reduction during deep-fat frying. Two sizes (35 and 47 mm) of uncoated and coated chicken balls were fried in peanut oil at 175C for five different frying periods ranging from 30 to 180s for small and 30 to 300s for large balls. The moisture and fat content from the surface layer and core were determined. In comparison to the control, moisture retention up to 16.4% and fat reduction up to 33.7% were observed.

Crispness is one of the most distinctive textural characteristics of dry crisp and fried products. This study was undertaken with the following objectives: to determine ultrasonic parameters and mechanical properties and to investigate the relationships between the instrumental parameters and sensory crispness obtained using a trained panel for chicken nuggets. Significant differences in ultrasonic velocity, transmission loss, peak force, and total energy were observed among the samples cooked by different methods. Ultrasonic velocity had high correlation with sensory crispness. This indicates that the ultrasonic velocity could predict sensory crispness.

The apple growers and packaging houses are interested in methods that can evaluate the quality of apples non-destructively. Harvested fruits are a mixture of immature, mature, and over mature fruits, thereby posing a great problem in deciding their end use and storage time. It is expected that the technique developed from the present project could be effectively used to classify the harvested fruit into immature, mature and over mature apples, rapidly and nondestructively. It would also help the growers to predict the optimum dates to harvest the fruits.York and Gala were the varieties of apples that were used in this study and were obtained from Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Kentland Farm. Apples were harvested at different times resulting in different maturity groups (immature, mature and ripe).Gala apples were harvested on three dates with an interval of 10 days, while York apples were harvested on four dates with an interval of 14 days. They were stored at 0 o C until sampled. For each harvest date, the experiments were conducted in two sets (10 each) on two consecutive days. First the ethylene levels were measured, followed by gas chromatograph and electronic nose. Then the maturity indices were measured.Three maturity indices, starch index, firmness and soluble solids were used as the three variables for the statistical analysis to identify and categorize the fruits into three maturity categories referred as immature, mature and over mature fruits. Apples were also categorized into three maturity groups based on the emanation levels of the aroma compounds evolved from the fruits. Then electronic nose sensor responses were categorized into the above maturity categories, and their effectiveness was determined using a statistical procedure called Discriminant Analysis (DA). From the DA cross validation results the correct classification percentage for Gala andYork apples into maturity groups was 95%. The Electronic nose sensor's effectiveness to categorize the same observations based on sensor responses in to the above classified maturity categories was 83% correct in case Gala apples and 69% for York apples. The EN sensors response data were analyzed by the EN system software and the correct classification percentage for Gala was 83% and for York was 81%. Aroma-based categorization for Gala apples was 100% correct, while the electronic nose for the same analysis was 80%.Based on the three physical parameters, an objective evaluation of maturity could be accomplished. Principal Component Analysis, Canonical Discriminant Analysis and DA results demonstrated that the electronic nose could be used to classify apples into three identified maturity-based groups. The EN sensors (Gala apples), could also classify the apples into aromabased categories. Thus, it can be concluded that the EN system holds promise as non-destructive evaluation technique to determine the maturity of an apple.iv Acknowledgements

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