Aim: To determine whether pan-frying (pork, beef and salmon) without oil or with different fats (olive oil, corn oil or a partially hydrogenated plant oil) or steaming (only salmon) have effects on the total fat content, the fatty acid pattern, lipid peroxidation, tocopherols and in particular for salmon on vitamin D(3) and astaxanthin.
Material and methods: Pork, beef patties and salmon were pan-fried (6 min each), beef fillet was pan-fried (5 min) with an additional braising period of 90 minutes and salmon was steamed for 12 minutes. Each pan-frying treatment was done with the above mentioned fats and without fat. Total fat was determined gravimetrically, the fatty acid pattern with GC, the tocopherols, astaxanthin and vitamin D(3) by using HPLC.
Results: The effects on the fat quality and quantity in the final products were related to the pan-frying fat used, however, the power of the outcome was depending on the surface to volume ratio. The highest increase in total fat was observed for pork, followed by the beef patties and the braised beef. The same has been assessed for the fatty acid pattern. Tocopherols changed according to the oil used, in particular gamma-tocopherol significantly increased for each preparation after the use of corn oil. Only in pork an increase in lipid oxidation of the oil preparations has been observed. Vitamin D(3) in salmon significantly decreased after heat treatment, however a 150 g salmon portion would provide between 13.9 and 14.7 mug Vitamin D(3) which is around five times more than the average daily intake.
Conclusion: Pan-frying without fat can be recommended for the daily use, since the total fat intake is too high in developed countries and one main task of nutritional recommendations is to reduce the total fat intake. When pan-fried with fat, the choice of the fat is of high importance since it directly influences the quality and the flavour of the final product. In order to increase the fat quality from nutritional point of view only oils of plant or vegetable origin should be used in households. Pan-fried salmon is a good source of Vitamin D(3).