A Systematic Review of the Factors Affecting the Rheological and Sensory Properties of Potato Chips

Potato chips are one of the most popular and widely consumed snacks in the world, obtained by frying. Frying gives potato chips a specific flavor and texture. Texture plays an important role in consumer satisfaction. This process changes the nutritional value and structure of the product by absorbing fat into the product. Rheological properties are a subset of textural properties of foods that have many applications in the fields of food acceptance, processing and handling. Given the importance of understanding this for product quality, consumer satisfaction, and reduced production costs, this systematic review aimed to identify and analyze the key factors affecting the rheological and sensory properties of potato chips. In this systematic review study, after searching the PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Scopus databases using some keywords (namely potato chips, texture, crispness, rheology, sensory), and without limiting the year of publication until August 2025, 24 articles related to the objectives of the present study were collected and reviewed. Studies on the rheological and sensory properties of potato chips show that the crispness of these food products is strongly influenced by moisture content, frying conditions and internal structure of the chips. From a rheological point of view, potato chips exhibit brittle fracture behavior and instrumental tests (such as texture analysis and acoustic measurements) are closely related to the sensory perception of crispness. Sensory evaluations also emphasize consumer preference for chips with a golden yellow color, balanced saltiness, and a pleasant, savory flavor created through Maillard reactions during frying.