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Fishing For A Better Bit Of Batter
Science Daily —
Good news for lovers of fish and chips, Japanese scientists have come up
with the perfect recipe to make a crispy batter which is also lower in
fat, reports Joanna Harries in Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the
SCI.
Dr Thanatuksorn and his team at Tokyo University of Technology studied
how the structure of the batter molecules changes during the frying
process. By altering the water content and frying time they were able to
suggest the perfect conditions to create batter with the best lasting
crispiness, as well as helping to reduce the fat content.*
During the deep-frying process a rigid microstructure of pores is formed
in the batter, and this microstructure is responsible for the textural
properties of the food, as well as determining how much oil is absorbed
during the frying. The amount of water in the batter before and after
frying is critical. Water evaporates during cooking creating the pores
responsible for crispiness, but residual moisture remaining after causes
the batter to go soggy.
According to Thanatuksorn's research, larger pores trap less oil during
cooking so will reduce the amount of fat in the cooked food. By using a
batter with a moisture content of 60% and frying for 5 minutes a highly
crisp lower-fat batter is formed. The scientists say the residual
moisture should be less than 5%.
Thanatuksorn says this method can be extended to other food types, so
next on the menu could be perfect chips.
*Reference: Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture DOI
10.1002/jsfa.3027
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Society
of Chemical Industry. |
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