In this study, canola oil was structured into oleogels with carnauba wax and evaluated for fat-uptake reduction and oxidative stability during deep-fat frying of chicken breast samples. Chicken samples were deep fat fried in either canola oil, 5% or 10% (w/v) oleogels for 3-4 min at 177.7 °C. Consequently, the proximate composition, microstructural properties, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), texture, and color characteristics were analyzed. Chicken samples fried in 5% and 10% oleogels recorded a lower fat-uptake (8.53% and 9.15%, respectively) compared to canola oil fried samples (15.10%). Generally, samples fried in 5% oleogel had the lowest TBARS and puncture force values. Color properties significantly varied between oleogel and canola oil fried samples. The microstructural evaluation showed observable differences in pore size, cracks, and fissures in the crust among all fried samples. Also, the frying medium did not alter the protein and ash contents of the fried samples (p > 0.05). Comparatively, moisture content was significantly higher in oleogel fried samples than in canola oil fried samples.

Fried foods have often been considered the chief culprit in high weight gain due to their high caloric content contributed by highfat content (Ananey-Obiri et al., 2018, 2020. The high amount of oil uptake by the food matrix during the frying process reaches a staggering 10-40% of the total food product weight (Sayon-Orea et al., 2013). Higher consumption of fried foods is also associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular-related diseases which are the leading cause of death (Sun et al., 2019). The increasing prevalence of these high fat-related diseases has motivated research in this area in order to reduce the amount of fat absorbed by food products during deep fat frying. Ananey-Obiri et al. (2020) successfully applied chicken processing by-products as a feasible route to reducing fat uptake in the deep-fried product. They reportedly used trimmings and light meat layers left on chicken drumstick bones to formulate edible proteinbased coatings at various concentrations. In their report, they found that edible coating containing 15% was able to effectively reduce fat uptake by 60% when compared to the control. Similarly, Azahrani et al. ( 2019) applied the same strategy, although they used a different food matrix (in this case fish) and a hydrocolloid-based batter system to achieve a much higher reduction in fat uptake and moisture loss.