SIMULTANEOUS HEAT AND MASS-TRANSFER DURING THE DEEP FAT FRYING OF TORTILLA CHIPS

The heating and water loss of a single tortilla chip during deep fat frying was investigated experimentally and the data were analyzed by writing two heat and mass transfer balances. The equations were solved using explicit finite difference technique, Oil uptake as a function of frying time was described by a first order exponential equation. The empirical and theoretical heat and mass transfer agreed well. The effect of oil temperature on the moisture loss and oil uptake as a function of frying time was analyzed. Moisture loss rate increased as temperature increased. The effects of temperature on oil uptake were not significant during the first 15 s of frying, however, the final oil content was higher for the tortilla chip fried at 190C than at 150C for 60 s.