Reduction of the fat content of battered and breaded fish balls during deep-fat frying using fermented bamboo shoot dietary fiber

• First report of reduction of the fat content of fried BBFBs using fermented dietary fiber derived from bamboo shoots.
• Significant reduction of fat absorption during deep-fat frying of fried BBFBs was achieved through adding 6% of BSDF to the batter.
• The effect of BSDF on fat content of fried BBFBs was investigated through SEM and frying experiment in Sudan red dyed oil.

The reduction of fat absorption during deep-fat frying of battered and breaded fish balls (BBFBs) was investigated using bamboo shoot dietary fiber (BSDF). BBFBs were prepared with 0–10% BSDF treatments, fried at 170 °C (50 s) followed by 190 °C (10 s), then evaluated for fat absorption, textural characteristics, and other quality parameters. The addition of 6% BSDF in the batter improved sensory quality of fried BBFBs (higher brightness and a golden-yellow crust); fat content of the crust and the core of fried BBFBs decreased from 25.5% and 2.4% to 17.7% and 1.3%, respectively. Hardness and chewiness of the crust and the core of fried BBFBs were also improved after adding BSDF to the batter. Microscopic analysis revealed more a compact crust structure and smaller pores inside the core that were more uniformly distributed when compared to fried BBFBs without BSDF. Moreover, of all the treatments, the addition of 6% BSDF produced the lowest oil penetration into fried BBFBs. These findings proved that BSDF added to the batter can significantly reduce fat absorption allowing low-fat fried BBFBs production.