Oxidative stability study of virgin coconut oil during deep frying

S.P. Koh and K. Long

Abstract

Comparative deep frying study of refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm olein, RBD coconut oil and virgin coconut oil (VCO) from Malaysia and Indonesia for frying of potato chips was undertaken at 170 °C for 5 consecutive days. Several oil quality parameters were evaluated, i.e. free fatty acids content, iodine value, peroxide value, color index, viscosity, percentage of total polar materials (TPM) and other products of oxidation (E1% 1 cm at 233 and 269 nm). VCO from Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) was found to be the least susceptible to oxidative deterioration. The oxidative stability of the different oils studied was in the order: VCO (Indonesia) < RBD palm olein < RBD coconut oil < VCO (MARDI). It was concluded that percentage of TPM and smoke point measures were not suitable as quality parameters to assess the frying performance of virgin coconut oil due to their polarity structure of medium-chain triglyceride.

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