Fractal analysis and crust water diffusivity of a restructured potato product during deep-fat frying

The effect of added fructose (0-10% w/w) on restructured potato product surface characteristics, mechanical properties, moisture loss, oil uptake and color changes during deep-fat frying was investigated. The apparent fractal dimension derived from the silhouettes of the sample contour was related to surface ruggedness, and displayed a marked linear effect of the added fructose on reducing its value from 1.27 to 1.08. The apparent fractal dimension correlated linearly with oil uptake and U-R, suggesting a practical criterion for predicting oil uptake during deep-fat frying. Added fructose reduced water diffusivity coefficients of pre-fried specimens from 2.00 x 10(-9) to 1.26 x 10(-9) m(2)/s. Porosity ranged from 0.79 to 0.82.