Unravelling the nexus between structure, texture, and acoustic traits of fried chicken nuggets

Abstract Texture is a multi-parameter attribute and one of the prime quality attributes of fried products. This study explored the nexus between microstructure and texture of fried breaded chicken nuggets. Chicken nuggets were deep-fat fried (2, 4, 6, and 8 min) in canola oil at different frying temperature (170, 180, and 190 °C). Microstructure and texture of fried samples were assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and acoustic-mechanical texture analyser, respectively. Maximum force (Fmax), number of force peaks (NFP), area under force-deformation plots (FA), sound pressure level (SPL), number of sound peaks (AUX), and area under amplitude-time curves (SA) were used to describe the textural parameters. Microstructural indices (porosity, number of pores, average pore area, polydispersity index, and average shape factor) were estimated from the SEM images. Results revealed that, both the frying time and temperature were positively correlated with the mechanical (Fmax: 25–55 N, NFP: 05–74 N, FA: 6500–15 000 N.sec) and acoustic (SPL: 88–97 dB, AUX: 650–810 dB, SA: 380–405 dB.sec) parameters. Frying time and temperature significantly (P < 0.05) impacted the formation of micropores in fried chicken nuggets. Crust microporosity showed strong positive correlations (r = 0.82) with the AUX value. The NFP, SPL, and SA of the fried nuggets were significantly (P < 0.05) impacted by the crust microporosity. Crust porosity (10–30%), number of pores (8–400), average pore area (10–4000 μm2), polydispersity index (0.05–0.2), and average shape factor (0.8–1.1) of fried nuggets were significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by both the frying time and temperature. Findings from this study would be useful in quality improvement and process monitoring including modelling of coated fried products.