Physicochemical and sensory properties of a tilapia skin-based ready-to-eat snack prepared by infrared drying and air frying.

Tilapia skin has many beneficial effects on human health, but it has not been exploited scientifically yet. A novel tilapia skin-based ready-to-eat snack was developed by infrared drying at 45°C for 25min and different puffing technologies at 180°C in this study. Compared to deep-fat frying, rotary baking and infrared radiation, air frying showed the highest puffing time (300 s) and medium expansion ratio (292.69%). The fat content (14.68%) and shear force (2.68 N) of air-fried skin were the lowest, while the yellowness value (12.63 and 8.66 for white and flower face), volatile compounds (50 kinds and 117.14 × 10^-2 μg/g) and general sensory impression (scored 8.64) were the highest. Besides, the consumer acceptance of air-fried skin seasoned with tomato or seaweed powders (scored 90.23 or 83.80) was the best. These suggested it was a promising way to produce the novel tilapia skin-based ready-to-eat snack through infrared drying and air...