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Effects of Different Drying Processes on Oil Absorption and Microstructure of Tortilla Chips

¹Department of Agricultural Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2117. ²Corresponding author. Phone: 409/847-8794. Fax: 409/845-3932. E-mail: rmoreira@diamond.tamu.edu

Tortilla chips were slow dried after baking and then fried in fresh soybean oil. Control chips were not dried before frying. Final oil content of sun-dried tortilla chips was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than those receiving the control treatment. As a result of drying, the structure of the tortilla chips was tighter before frying but expanded significantly during frying. An attempt was made to produce tortilla chips with the same characteristics of the sun-dried chips using impinging hot-air drying techniques. Results indicated that tortilla chips drying rate was mostly affected by air temperature; texture was crispier at higher air temperatures; shrinkage of the piece was higher at lower convective heat transfer coefficient; and microstructure looked smoother at higher air temperature.