EVALUATION OF A VACUUM FRYER FOR JACKFRUIT AND BANANA CHIPS: machine performance evaluation

The overall objective of the research was to evaluate the performance of the vacuum fryer developed by the Center for Agricultural Machinery Development in Indonesia. The specific research objectives were to evaluate the effect of frying condition including pretreatment of raw material, frying temperature and frying pressure on product quality (percentage of oil content, percentage of sugar content, color, and crispness); to assess performance of vacuum fryer; and to assess economic feasibility of vacuum fryer.Recommendation for frying condition to produce the best jackfruit chips was blanching in 80oC for 10 minutes and then soaking in 0.5% CaCl2 solution for 30 minutes, and then frying at 75oC and 650 mmHg. Recommendation for frying condition to produce the best banana chips was soaking in 0.5% CaCl2 solution for 30 minutes, and then frying at 75oC and 650 mmHg.