Reviewing the effects of vacuum frying on frying medium and fried foods properties

Summary Vacuum frying (VF) is a process developed at a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure, in which lower temperatures are employed to remove moisture from the food and reduce the oil content in the final product. Diverse studies have been published for VF or assisted with microwave and ultrasound, facing the challenges of accomplishing the physical and sensory properties appreciated in fried products. The studied matrices under VF include mainly vegetable origin foods (apple, banana, carrot, donuts, kiwi, mushroom, pea, pear, potato and sweet potato) and some animal origin products (chicken nuggets, fish fillets and surimi products). This review aimed to show recent and relevant findings of the application of VF, analysing both the effects on the frying medium and the impact on the fried foods. The inclusion of microwave and ultrasound technologies aids in the obtention of high‐quality products in terms of sensory and textural attributes, oil content as well as reduced oil degradation. This technique may provide safer and stable fried foods with lower oil content aiding in improving the diet of consumers and reducing production costs.