three different concentrations of sugar solutions
were used. The driving force for water removal is
the concentration gradient between the solution and
the intracellular fluid. As the concentration of sugar
used for dipping was increased, the driving force for
water removal was also increased and resulted in low
moisture content of the banana chips.
Fat analysis
The research continues with the analysis of oil
uptake in banana chips after frying. From Figure
2, the highest fat content was control banana chips
(0.66%) while the lowest fat content was banana
chip dips in 12 g of sugar solution (0.54%). Research
by Mehta (2001) showed that fat content is largely
determined by the moisture content of the food.
Frying is the process of cooking foods using oil as
the heating medium. In this research, deep frying
techniques had been used to fry the banana chips. In
deep-frying, banana chips are immersed in the oil at
180◦C for 5 minutes. During deep frying, water in the
crust will evaporate and move out of the food. The
banana chips with high moisture has higher amount
of fat content after frying rendering chips oily in
appearance thus affecting the overall preference.
While a lower moisture content of banana chip led
to less oil absorption, resulting in chips lacking
oily taste. Similar results were also found by Smith
(1951).
Lamberg (1990) stated that when potato chips
are fried in oil at a high temperature, the moisture
would boil explosively. This may result in cell wall
bursting and damage and consequently, the formation