An innovative model for describing oil penetration into the doughnut crust during hot air frying

Hot air frying is one of the newest processing methods that can make healthier fried foods. The mechanism of frying using this method is not understood entirely yet. There is no model available to describe the oil absorption for air-fried foods. In this research, an agent-based model was extended to describe the oil penetration procedure and study the different effects of the cellular structure of crust on oil distribution during hot air frying. Netlogo software was used for the model simulation. The simulation results of oil penetration were in good agreement with experimental data. Obtained results show that the oil penetration procedure divided into three main steps named latent phase, acceleration phase, and deceleration phase. The acceleration phase is the most critical step in doughnut oil absorption. Simulated data also show that oil penetration starts from the thinner parts of the crust. Therefore, it seems that the structure of the crust has an important effect on oil absorption pattern.