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Although numerous studies have been conducted to explore the
possibilities of reducing acrylamide levels in French fries, a team of
researchers from Turkey has shown that by reducing the frying time and
hence the acrylamide formation by microwave pre-cooking of potato
strips prior to frying.
Publishing their work in the Journal of the Science of Food and
Agriculture, the researches showed that microwave application prior to
frying resulted in a marked reduction of the acrylamide level in the
surface region. When the potato strips were subjected to frying after
a microwave pre-cooking step, acrylamide content in the whole potato
strip was reduced by 36%, 41% and 60% for frying at 150, 170 and 190oC
respectively.
“Microwaving French fries before cooking takes little time and in fact,
microwave pre-cooked samples fried to the same degree of cooking
appeared to have a more acceptable colour, probably due to the more
gentle heat treatment they experienced during frying,” says lead
author Koray Palazoglu, of the University of Mersin, Turkey.
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