Oxidative stability, shelf‐life and stir‐frying application of Torreya grandis seed oil

Abstract Torreya grandi s seed oil, with a feature of Δ5‐sciadonic acid (SA, 20:3 Δ5, 11, 14 ω‐6), is an attractive woody oil as its potential health benefits in lowering blood and hepatic lipids and anti‐inflammatory properties. In the present study, its oxidative stabilities at both room temperature and heating conditions were investigated by analysing oxidation stability index (OSI), shelf‐life, changes of fatty acids, acid value and peroxide value during stir‐frying tests. Also, its effects on the sensory qualities of stir‐fried shredded potatoes were evaluated. The OSI of T . grandis seed oil was 2.97 h at 120 °C, which was 11.24% higher than that of the control soybean oil, contributing to a longer predicted shelf‐life of 135–195 d for T. grandis seed oil than 127–180 d for soybean oil. T . grandis seed oil also exhibited superior thermal stability compared to soybean oil. The feature fatty acid, SA, only lost 2.48–5.73% (decreasing from 14.14 to 13.33–13.79%) under the optimised stir‐frying conditions at 140–180 °C for 3–5 min. For the stir‐frying shredded potatoes, T. grandis seed oil made it more pleasing in colour, odour and palatability. Due to its desirable oxidative stability at room temperature and stir‐frying performance at high temperature, T. grandis seed oil is suitable for use as a domestic cooking oil.