Generally, batter or breading pickup is directly correlated with batter viscosity that is, as viscosity increases, more batter and breading remain on the substrate. The most prevalent of coated foods is a breaded product where a coating is usually applied on top of an adhesive batter on a pre-dusted substrate. 3 A breading is defined as a dry mixture of flour, starch, and seasonings, coarse in nature, and applied to moistened or battered food products prior to cooking. Several studies show the influence of batter viscosity on breading of chicken drumsticks. Breadingīreading is a way to seal in the flavors of a prepared dish maintaining intense flavor and proper texture despite storage. The batter is designed to have good cohesive characteristics and as a result of leavening ingredients, forms a layer rich in air pockets. They are made from a mixture of flour and starch, have high solid content, and are highly viscous. Tempura batters are cohesion batters containing significant amount of leavening agents. The separation of recipe components, therefore, needs to be prevented by maintaining the right viscosity up to the point where the product’s structure is set. Batter becomes thinner as it heats up in the oven, thus increasing the likelihood of phase separation of the denser components, such as starch granules, which may sink to the bottom of the baking tin. These bubbles are produced by rising agents and steam, which cause expansion and reduce batter density. 2Ĭake batters need to be sufficiently viscous to prevent loss of gas bubbles during mixing. However, for less viscous batter systems, as for wafers and puddings, there is a possibility of loss of air beaten into the batter during mixing, and separation of phases, which can be detrimental to the end product quality. For highly viscous batter systems, there is usually sufficient viscosity to stop phase separation and to trap and retain air, which is required for breads. Sufficient viscosity is required to stop phase separation during mixing, floor time and baking in the oven. They typically consist of a number of dispersed phases such as flour, fat, water and air. However, ensuring and monitoring viscosity of batter mix or coating is not trivial. 1 Viscosity plays a super-sized role in ensuring controlled consistency of batter mixes. A key requirement for automated coaters is the uniformity of the coating making it vital to ensure the consistency of the batter is maintained as it is applied by the coater.īatter viscosity is crucial to functionalityĬonsistency of the batter during coating is crucial to ensuring cost-effective, repeatable and uniform product. The batter coating can be applied via bath, waterfall or spray and cover one side or the complete piece. The products being coated include chunks of raw or pre-processed food items like poultry, meat, sea food and vegetables, as well as extruded or molded food items. ‘Battering’ or ‘coating’ may be done to give the product certain additional properties, such as ‘bite’ (crispness), color or taste. Many processed foods are coated with starch-based batters to enhance flavor and add texture-and contribute to the identity and appeal of the particular product. Depending on the type of food product, the processing objectives and challenges may be different but one thing is certain-food companies strive to meet their requirements of consistent quality and freshness by developing innovative products, while lowering production costs and easing maintenance. When used as coating, the batter is typically applied by dipping, or spraying onto continuous baking drums and oven bands. Batter is widely used as a coating for deep-fried foods as well as many other products such as cakes, waffles, biscuits, and pancakes.
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