A COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF OVEN ROASTING AND OIL COOKING ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE OF PEANUT (ARACHIS-HYPOGAEA L CV FLORIGIANT) COTYLEDON

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L. cv. Florigiant) cotyledon microstructure a fter oven roasting and oil cooking at 160-degrees-C was documented wit h scanning electron microscopy, light microscopy and transmission elec tron microscopy. Changes in peanut cotyledon microstructure were compa red as thermal processing time at 160-degrees-C was increased for both oven roasting and oil cooking. The purpose was to evaluate thermal mo difications in the cytoplasmic network, protein bodies and cell-to-cel l junctions as thermal processing time increased for each heating meth od. Principal findings included differences in the times at which thes e modifications occurred during the two thermal processes. Oven roasti ng at 160-degrees-C consistently induced similar thermal modifications more slowly than oil cooking at 160-degrees-C.