The objective of this study was to evaluate the appearance, texture, palatability, and nutritional content of vegetable chips fried in either vacuum or at normal pressure. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that vacuum fried chips (VFCs) displayed dehydrated cell walls, whereas normal-pressure fried chips (NFCs) appeared to be coated with a film of oil. VFCs were brighter and more vivid than NFCs. A palatability evaluation revealed that VFCs smelled better and were less oily, possessed a more suitable texture, and had an improved taste compared to NFCs. Using rupture measurements, a certain trend in VFCs and NFCs was not observed. VFCs possessed a significantly higher vitamin C content and significantly lower lipid oxide content compared to NFCs, indicating that oxidation was suppressed during the processing of VFCs. Furthermore, the antioxidant capacity of VFCs was lower than that of NFCs, indicating that the aminocarbonyl reaction during cooking was inhibited under vacuum.

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In this study, we investigated the effect of the odour-active compounds present in herbs on the taste of vinegar dressings. Herb vinegar dressings were prepared with herbs containing odour-active compounds such as dill, rosemary and basil, and consumed along with other food ingredients including scallop adductor muscles and mozzarella cheese.
The results of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-olfactometry analyses revealed the major odour-active compounds to be dill ether (faintly harbal odour) and bornyl acetate (charcoal-like odour) in dill, eugenol (spicy odour) in rosemary, and eucalyptol (minty odour) in basil. It was observed that the odour-active compounds present in the herbs determined the flavour of the herb vinegar dressing. Results of the sensory evaluation test showed significant differences between the combinations of scallop adductor muscles with basil, dill, and rosemary vinegar dressings respectively (p<0.05). Additionally, significant differences were also observed between the combinations of mozzarella cheese with basil, dill, and rosemary vinegar dressings respectively (p<0.05), out of which the basil vinegar dressing was most highly rated. On the basis of our results, we propose that the odour-active compounds derived from basil, used in the preparation of the basil vinegar dressing, have an aromatic appeal and enhance the taste of the vinegar dressing.

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