The aim of this work is to examine the relationship between surface roughness and oil uptake in fried fabricated products. Two product categories were studied, using formulations based either on potato flakes or wheat gluten. Products were deep-fat fried at 170 degrees C and two oil fractions, penetrated oil and surface oil, were determined at the beginning and at the end of cooling period. The surface of fried products was measured using a scanning laser microscope and characterized by an area-scale fractal analysis. Within each product category, products with higher surface roughness retained more oil. However, this relationship could not be extended when comparing products of different categories. Potato-flake-based products were rougher than gluten-based products, but retained less oil. Further, gluten-based products absorbed most of the oil during frying, whereas potato-flake-based mostly absorbed oil during cooling. Certainly, surface roughness is a key factor in oil absorption, but other food-related properties, such as the micro-structure of the crust, may explain differences among product categories and should be examined in future studies. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.