Effect of vacuum frying on changes in the quality attributes of three varieties of maize

Abstract In this study, two vacuum frying (VF) conditions were evaluated for their impact on the chemical characteristics, acrylamide content, starch digestibility, and instrumental and sensory texture of three corn varieties (local maize, INIAP-193, INIAP-122). In addition, INIAP-193 was fried under deep-fat frying (DF) because it is the most widely used preparation technique for saccharate variety, and the effect on nutritional and colour components was assessed. The lowest moisture content and the highest lipid content were found in fried INIAP-193 under DF. Frying led to an increase in total starch and resistant starch, while amylose, slow digestible starch, and total sugars decreased in fried kernels under VF, compared to raw grains. Fried INIAP-193 under DF had a higher acrylamide content, which correlated with its higher reducing sugar content. However, this fried variety under VF (140 °C, 11.3 kPa) received the highest sensory rating due to its lower hardness, reduced adhesion, and increased fracturability. Vacuum-fried kernels showed less nutritional degradation than their deep-fried counterparts. The correlogram showed significant positive correlations between the following attributes: hardness—sensory fracturability, instrumental—sensory fracturability, and instrumental fracturability—sensory hardness.