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.