Comparative analysis of the effects of novel electric field frying and conventional frying on the quality of frying oil and oil absorption of fried shrimps

Production of high-quality fried foods with low oil content receives considerable attention from consumers and producers. The effects of electric field frying (EFF) and conventional frying (CF) on the physicochemical properties of frying oil, the oil absorption behavior, and the microstructural changes in fried shrimps were compared and evaluated in this study. Results showed the application of EFF could delay the degradation of frying oil evidently compared with CF. The increasing rate of total polar compound content, acid values, viscosity, and color deepening of EFF oil was slower (p < 0.05) than that of CF oil during the prolonged frying. The analysis of the results of low field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) measurements confirmed our findings. In addition, the fried shrimps produced by EFF had reduced oil content (p < 0.05), increased water retention (p < 0.05), even oil distribution, and decreased microstructure damage via the observation of magnetic resonance imaging, confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), and scanning electron microscope. Results may provide ideas for producing high-quality fried products with low oil content and delaying oil degradation during frying.