A Comparative Study of Physicochemical and Flavor Characteristics of Chicken Nuggets during Air Frying and Deep Frying

Abstract

Chicken nuggets were air‐fried and deep‐fried for various times at the same temperature. The moisture content, oil content, color, texture, volatile compounds, and lipids degradation of the chicken nuggets were investigated. The evolution rate of the moisture content, oil content, color, and texture were much higher during deep frying than during air frying. Air frying required more time to produce similar quality attributes as those of deep‐fried chicken nuggets. On average, the oil content of the air‐fried chicken nuggets was 25% lower than that of the deep‐fried chicken nuggets. Of the 74 volatile compounds identified in the fried chicken nuggets, aldehydes, hydrocarbons, and heterocycles were the main flavor contributors. The total amount of volatile compounds and aldehydes detected in the air‐fried chicken nuggets was much lower than that in the deep‐fried samples, but the number of heterocycles produced by the Maillard reaction was higher during air frying. Sensory evaluation revealed that the air‐fried chicken nuggets had lower oiliness and crispness, and 9 min was the optimal frying time to obtain air‐fried chicken nuggets with similar sensory attributes (color, odor, juiciness, and overall acceptance) as those of the best deep‐fried chicken nuggets. Air frying was a healthier frying method for the production of fried chicken nuggets, which could reduce oxidative degradation of lipids in chicken nuggets.

Thermal inactivation of Salmonella on chicken wings cooked in domestic convection and air fryer ovens

“…This leads to superficial dehydration and the gradual formation of a crust on the surface of the food (Zaghi et al, 2019). Moisture loss has been reported for air-fried protein foods such as chicken nuggets and sardines (Cao et al, 2020;Ferreira et al, 2017). Cao et al (2020) found that the moisture content of chicken nuggets decreased from 140 g/100 g dry basis to 60 g/100 g dry basis after air frying for 18 min at 180 • C (356 • F).…”

“…This leads to superficial dehydration and the gradual formation of a crust on the surface of the food (Zaghi et al., 2019). Moisture loss has been reported for air‐fried protein foods such as chicken nuggets and sardines (Cao et al., 2020; Ferreira et al., 2017). Cao et al.…”

“…Cao et al. (2020) found that the moisture content of chicken nuggets decreased from 140 g/100 g dry basis to 60 g/100 g dry basis after air frying for 18 min at 180°C (356°F). Air‐fried sardines (10 min at 180°C/356°F) had 55.2 g/100 g of moisture compared with 75.2 g/100 g in the raw product (Ferreira et al., 2017).…”

“…Moisture loss has been reported for air-fried protein foods such as chicken nuggets and sardines (Cao et al, 2020;Ferreira et al, 2017). Cao et al (2020) found that the moisture content of chicken nuggets decreased from 140 g/100 g dry basis to 60 g/100 g dry basis after air frying for 18 min at 180 • C (356 • F). Airfried sardines (10 min at 180 • C/356 • F) had 55.2 g/100 g of moisture compared with 75.2 g/100 g in the raw product (Ferreira et al, 2017).…”

Thermal properties, oxidative stability, and frying applicability of highly pure soybean‐based diacylglycerol oil

“…The texture of each test sample was examined at 25°C using a TA XTplus texture analyzer (Stable Micro Systems, Haslemere, England) according to the previous method (Cao et al, 2020). The adopt TAP model was used to assess the texture of potato strips and chicken drumsticks.…”