Changes in the Physicochemical and Nutritional Parameters of Picual and Arbequina Olive Oils during Frying

Abstract

Deep fat frying is an important cooking process in Mediterranean countries. Olive oil is a very convenient fat to use for this culinary purpose. The chemical composition of olive oils differs from edible oils in terms of fatty acid and antioxidant compounds that gives olive oil its greater stability. The aim of this work was to describe the stability of Picual and Arbequina olive oil during deep frying of frozen potatoes in comparison with high oleic sunflower oil. Changes in different physicochemical and nutritional parameters were studied during frying. Picual olive oil had a higher stability in comparison with high oleic sunflower oil and Arbequina olive oil. Picual olive oil is very suitable for frying because it is able to undergo the greatest number of frying cycles without exceeding the limits allowed by regulations. This behavior is due to its phenolic content, the lower loss in tocopherol and better stability. Practical Applications The information gained from this research could be very appropriate for consumers and for the industry to know which variety of olive oil is more suitable for frying longer frying cycles without exceeding the limits allowed by regulation and remain in good quality.

Physicochemical properties and oxidative stability of frying oils during repeated frying of potato chips

“…Linoleic acid (C18:2) in the oils except SBO significantly decreased, and linolenic acid (C18:3) in SBO and POO significantly decreased from 7.3 to 7.1% and from 0.2 to 0% (p \ 0.05), respectively. These results were similar to previous studies: C18:1 and C18:2 in Picual and Arbequina olive oils and high oleic sunflower oil significantly decreased after 70 times repeated frying at 180°C [16]. C18:1 and C18:2 in canola oil significantly decreased and C16:0 and C18:0 relatively increased after frying at 185°C for 49 h [17].…”

“…These results were similar to a previous study, reporting that L* value of virgin coconut oil decreased, and a* and b* values increased during 8 h frying [9]. However, b* value of the fresh POO was higher than the oil used 80 times repeatedly in our study, probably because the fresh POO might contain a high amount of chlorophylls and carotenoids, although their levels were not measured in this study, which in turn might be rapidly degraded during frying [16]. It was found that carotenoid content and b* value of an olive oil had a significant correlation: the more carotenoids were in the oil, the higher its b* value was [20].…”

Virgin Olive Oil as Frying Oil

“…Phenolic content dramatically decreased after the 10th frying cycle, ranging from 0% to 10% of the respective basal values; a more than 50% decrease was observed after 6 frying operations. Still, Abenoza and others () observed much lower phenolic losses; 10% and 25% Picual and Arbequina VOO phenolic content, respectively, was preserved after 70 and 63 deep‐frying cycles, respectively. Such results may, however, be attributed to the small duration time of frying cycles (3 min), which resulted in a relatively short total heating period of the oil.…”

“…Tocopherol losses after pan‐frying of bread in VOO for one frying session was approximately 30% (Fisnar and others ). A 72% and 54% tocopherol loss was observed for Arbequina and Picual olive oil after approximately sixty 3‐min frying cycles of potatoes (Abenoza and others ). In general, pan‐frying has been shown to induce higher tocopherol depletion as compared to deep‐frying.…”

“…Sanchez‐Gimeno and others () found that VOO had not reached the TPM rejection limit even after 60 successive frying cycles of pre‐fried potatoes; its performance was proven superior to that of high‐oleic sunflower oil, indicating the positive effects of minor VOO constituents. Likewise, Abenoza and others () showed that the limit of rejection was reached after 58 and 63 frying cycles in high‐oleic sunflower oil and Arbequina EVOO, respectively, although EVOO from the Picual variety—presenting higher antioxidant content—had not reached the limit of rejection after 70 cycles. It is worth noting at this point that data obtained for the majority of oil deterioration parameters agree with those provided for TPM and thus support the evidence regarding the good olive oil stability during frying.…”