Dietary Evaluation of Vegetables Pan-Fried in Virgin Olive Oil Following the Greek Traditional Culinary Practice

The aim of this work was the nutritional evaluation of fresh vegetables, pan-fried in virgin olive oil according to the traditional Greek culinary practices. The vegetables studied (potatoes, green peppers, zucchini, and eggplant) are traditionally consumed after pan-frying in virgin olive oil in Greece and other Mediterranean countries. The fried samples contained less moisture, more fat, and more energy when compared to the raw ones, while they were significantly enriched in squalene, β-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol. Their fatty acid composition reflected that of the olive oil they absorbed. The results obtained indicate that among other nutritional benefits of their consumption, vegetables fried in virgin olive oil appear to represent a healthy lipid profile in regard to fatty acid classes and their atherogenic and thrombogenic indices, while they furthermore provide an additional intake of monounsaturated fat, squalene, and phytosterols for Mediterranean peoples.

The authors would like to thank Mrs. Margarita Christea for her technical assistance.

Keywords:

• Domestic pan-frying
• virgin olive oil
• vegetables
• energy content
• fatty acids
• squalene
• phytosterols

Notes

The authors would like to thank Mrs. Margarita Christea for her technical assistance.