Consumer acceptance towards potato chips fried in yellow mealworm oil

There is a growing interest in food products containing insect ingredients in Western countries. However, the focus lies primarily on insect meal while insect oil is a valuable fraction obtained after insect fractionation. This oil contains healthy compounds and a positive sensorial experience. This study proposes a new application for yellow mealworm (YMW) oil, namely as a deep-frying oil. The goal was to explore consumers’ preference and emotions of potato chips fried in YMW oil (crude or deodorized) and to compare those with a commercial frying oil and with their blends. The results showed that potato chips fried in the blend of vegetable oil + deodorized YMW (50/50) was the most preferred sample (33%). These potato chips also scored lowest for aftertaste and off-flavor. Moreover, these potato chips were associated to a higher extent with positive emotions and less with negative emotions. The potato chips fried in vegetable, deodorized and in the blend of vegetable with deodorized YMW oil were perceived as the tastiest, with a natural flavor and with the lowest aftertaste, lowest off-flavor and scored lowest for chemical flavor. In contrast, the blend of vegetable oil + crude YMW oil was the least liked and preferred. Yellow mealworm oil fulfills the chemical requirements for deep-frying oils. As shown in this study, the consumers’ sensorial experience and preference of food products deep-fried in YMW oil is similar to that of products fried in a vegetable oil when the insect oil is deodorized.