Abstract
Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) is widely grown agricultural product in Mediterranean region. When compared to potato, it contains higher amount of fiber, potassium, magnesium, and zinc. Mineral content of taro is higher than banana, which is the most produced and consumed product in this area. In addition, glycemic index of taro is lower compared to white potato. Taro consumption is low because of hard texture, high amount of mucilage comes off during peeling and cutting, and short postharvest shelf-life. The objective of this project is to increase the consumption of taro by producing high quality, ready-to-use, and nutritious frozen taro fries. Treatments consist of dipping into acidic solutions, blanching at 85±1°C for 2, 4, 6 min, cooling at 20±1°C for 5 min, par-frying at 180±1°C for 1 min, and storing at -18±1°C for 6 months. Treated products were analyzed for mold count, moisture content, ash content, water retention and oil holding capacities, color and sensorial quality. Based on mold count, blanching at 85±1°C for 6 min was required to be able to store product at -18±1°C for 6 months. When water retention capacity of the product decreased, oil holding capacity increased. Higher ash content was determined in taro products treated with lemon solution, blanched and then par-fried compared to other products. Par-frying increased L*, decreased a* and b* values, thereby increase in darkness and decrease in yellowness was observed in taro products. According to the sensory analysis ranking test, par-fried taro treated with citric acid (Lt6-K) was the most, whereas taro treated with vinegar (S6-K) was the least preferred one.