Table 1 presents the experimental results for shrinkage and
expansion as a function of frying time for bananas slices fried at
110 C under 8 kPa up to 20 min and Fig. 2 plots the results as a
function of frying time. Even though the total frying time for a
product can take as short as 90 s for potato chips and as long as
20 min for fried pork meat (Sosa-Morales et al., 2006), these processes
take place at 160–190 C, while the vacuum frying temperature
is from 100 to 120 C. Therefore, the frying conditions, thethickness of the product, the property of the foodstuffs, and the desired
final characteristics of the product all directly influence the
total frying time of the product. In this case, frying was carried
out for 20 min until the product banana chips were completely
crispy (no soft, mushy texture). Additional frying time resulted in
undesirable dark colorations of the product.