Shelf stability and sensory attributes of a deep-fried product incorporated with pre-treated soy flour

The effect of incorporating soy on quality of a deep-fried product was investigated. Defatted soy flour was pretreated with microwave heat, pressure heat and enzyme and incorporated at 20% level to the product prepared with Bengal gram. Product without soy served as control. They were stored in different packaging materials at room and low temperatures for 4 weeks and analyzed every week for free fatty acids (FFA), peroxide value (PV) and acceptability. Fat absorption reduced by 31% and 11-19% in products prepared with untreated and pretreated soy, respectively, in comparison with control. The FFA content of low temperature-stored product at week IV was 0.92% compared with products stored at room temperature (1.56-1.81%). Incorporation of soy flour did not alter the FFA content in stored products but decreased PV. Low temperature-stored products were acceptable at week IV, whereas others developed an off flavor at the end of week III. Deep-fried foods have a large share of the snack foods industry and are specially liked for their crunchy texture and unique flavor. Generally, however, they have high fat content and need to be consumed in restricted amounts for health reasons. A reduction in fat content of fried foods without compromising the sensory quality is a major challenge for the food manufacturer. The study explores the possibility of utilizing pretreated defatted soy flour in a deep-fried snack product with the purpose of reducing fat absorption and improving sensory and keeping quality. Incorporation of soy flour resulted in reduced fat absorption in fried products and pretreatment of soy flour improved the sensory quality of products. The study has potential application in snack food industry for reducing fat content in fried products and for improving sensory attributes by incorporating defatted soy flour, which in turn has many health benefits.