Lipid profile of foods fried in thermally polymerized palm oil

Lipids extracted from foods fried in thermally polymerized palm oil were evaluated in papads, French fries and fish fry (Bombay duck) with moisture content ranging between 10% and 75%, in an attempt to investigate the effect of moisture content on lipid quality indices such as free fatty acids, conjugated dienes, p-anisidine value, viscosity, total polar materials and colour values. The quality of lipids in products with high moisture content (50% or more) was found to be inferior to that of the oil left after frying, as evidenced in Bombay duck and French fries from potatoes with initial moisture content of 52–77%. A reverse trend was observed in papads and French fries prepared from dehydrated potatoes with moisture content of 12% or less. The results indicate the moisture content of food plays a definite role in the distribution of the lipid constituents during frying in thermally polymerized oil.