Batter/breading (coating) of products has several advantages

1. crispy textures, attractive surfaces, popular with consumers

2. flavor improvement/modification

3. “seal-in” moisture and fat

4. increase yields– allowed to add 30% to product weight as batter

and breading

Application process and materials 1. predust

– to improve adhesion

– dry flour or dry batter mix applied first to product surface to make it more receptive

2. batters– main function is to provide base for crumbs to adhere to product

– fluid mixture of flour, flavorings and starch

– viscosity is very important to the amount of pickup or thickness of batter/breading

– depends on

a. flour/water ratio

b. temperature

2. batters (continued)

– applied by submersion or “overflow” of batter over product

– viscometers (Brookfield, Zahn, Stein, Bostwick) used to check and monitor batter viscositya. adhesive batters

– low to medium viscosity intended mostly to achieve breading (crumb) adhesion

b. “tempura” batters– includes raising or leavening agents to generate gas and “puff” the product

– high viscosity for thick coating with minimum mixing or pumping to prevent loss of gas

– cooked immediately to brown and expand the batter (w/gas) to an open, honey-comb-like texture

3. breading – wide variety of sizes, color and materials to be used alone or in

combination– crumbs, flours, starches, spices, herbs, nuts, seeds, etc.

– a. reclaimed breadcrumbs– from unsold bread

– dried (maybe toasted), ground

– variable, losing popularity

– b. industrial crumb (American-style)– bread produced purposely for crumbs

– common on onion rings and cheese sticks

– sizes ranging form fine to coarse are available

– often includes coloring agents for appearance

3. breading (continued) c. Japanese-style crumb (Oriental crumb)

– light, flake-like appearance produced by induction heating rather than conventional baking

– gives crispy surface, breaks easily in handling

– very attractive coating for visual appeal

d. extruded crumbs– extrusion cooked

– similar appearance to Japanese-style, do not maintain crispness as well

e. cracker meal– dried, ground cracker crumb from baked cracker-like sheets

– relatively little flavor

– hard texture, applied as fine coating over thick batter

– high frying tolerance– deep fat frying for extended times

– widely used in U.S.

3. breading (continued) f. flour breaders

– mostly wheat flour with starches, spices, herbs fine cracker meal, coloring, browning (dextrose) agents– high frying tolerance– common for poultry products for “home cooked” appearance

g. fresh crumbs– use of undried bread crumbs– gives light, crisp texture– perishable due to moisture content and must be refrigerated

h. cereal flakes– ground corn flakes is one example– handling and functions similar to Japanese-style bread crumbs

i. potato flakes– also resemble Japanese-style bread crumbs

j. dry flavorings, sauces– color, flavor contributors

Equipment for batter and breading is an important factor in the process and needs to be appropriate for

the batters/breadings used