Abstract: The objective was to study the effect of cooking and salt concentration in the pre-fried cooking process of salted mashua chips by applying vacuum frying. A Composite Central Design 22 was used. The independent variables were: the effect of cooking time (0-15 min) and the addition of salt (0-1.25%). The dependent variables were: moisture content, fat content, titratable acidity and texture. The moisture was negatively affected by the two independent variables. With greater cooking time, the fat content increases and as the levels of the two variables increase, the texture and amount of acidity decrease. The optimal treatment was chosen with 7.5 min of cooking and 0.63% of salt. The chips obtained by vacuum frying presented 50.42% less fat content when compared to the sample processed with atmospheric frying.

Resumen: El objetivo fue estudiar el efecto de la cocción y de la concentración de sal en el proceso de cocción prefritura de chips de mashua aplicando fritura al vacío. Se utilizó un Diseño Central Compuesto 22, donde las variables independientes fueron: el efecto del tiempo de cocción (0-15 min) y la adición de sal (0-1.25%). Las variables dependientes fueron: humedad, grasa, acidez titulable y textura. La humedad se vio negativamente afectada por las dos variables estudiadas. A medida que se incrementa el tiempo de cocción, el contenido de grasa aumenta y al aumentar los niveles de las dos variables, la textura y el grado de acidez disminuyen. Como tratamiento óptimo se escogió la muestra con 7.5 min de cocción y 0.63% de sal. Los chips obtenidos mediante fritura al vacío presentaron un 50.42% menos en el contenido final de grasa, en comparación con la muestra procesada con fritura atmosférica.

Abstract The Andean Blueberry (Vaccinium floribundum) is a fruit with a recognized antioxidant capacity. Its consumption is limited to typical food in the Andean Ecuadorian zones. In this study, the effect of the addition of Andean blueberry (AB) pulp on loaf bread quality was determined. The specific volume was affected by the low fermentation rate due to the acidic pH of the fruit. The texture profile measurement demonstrated a product with harder consistency, due to the low number and circularity of the alveoli. Higher air retention in the crumb was also found. Simulated Gastrointestinal conditions directly affected the antioxidant capacity of the AB, producing a reduction of 96.9%. On the other hand, the AB bread initially presented a value of 37 μM Trolox/g and, after the digestion process, a value of 10.6 μM Trolox/g, corresponding to a percentage of bioaccessibility of 28.6%. The global results indicate that the gluten network would protect the antioxidant compounds of the AB. It was possible to develop bread with healthier properties, due to the high antioxidant content of the AB.