Inter-particle space fractions in fried batter coatings as influenced by batter formulation and pre-drying time

Evaluation different fractions of the spaces in a fried product that are occupied by air, moisture, or fat provides useful information for researcher and manufacturer to better understand the mechanism of oil absorption during frying. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of batter formulations and pre-drying on the fraction of inter-particle spaces in batter coating. Pre-drying decreased the amount of fat to 2.97 g/100 g compared to non-pre-dried samples which showed 4.37 g/100 g fat content. Higher rice flour content in batter significantly increased the fraction of inter-particle spaces occupied by air (SOA), and decreased the fraction of spaces occupied by moisture (SOM) and fat (SOF). Longer pre-drying times showed greater fraction of spaces occupied by air, and smaller fraction of spaces occupied by moisture and fat. SOA, SOM, and SOF of the batter systems ranged from 2.2% to 46.03%, 2.55 to 47.07%, and 0.35% to 11.11%, respectively. Using higher amount of wheat flour in batter and longer pre-drying time showed to significantly decrease fat uptake during frying.