Fried food can be such a temptation, or even a luxury indulgence that you only have once in a while.
It can also be quite intimidating to cook at home…anf if you are going to take the time, and the risk of getting burtned, it’s worth learning how to do it correcvtly.
Those times that you do fry foods at home, you want to make sure that you end up with the crispiest, crunchiest, and yummiest food…food with an attractive coloring, delicious taste, and satisfying crunch.
Not greasy, soggy food with breading that simply, falls or flakes off while you are cutting into it, ending up eating the breading separate from the meat.
So we’ll start our discussion on frying foods with breading.
Breading is a basic process that involves coating your food—such as fried chicken and onion rings—before frying it.
This coating can consist of many different types of crumbs—such as rushed corn flakes, fine dried breadcrumbs, crushed cracker meal, and even potato chips…(more on this later)…
Breading differs from using a batter to prep your food.
Breading involves using basically dry ingredients whereas Battering your food involves combining flour of some sort with a liquid and perhaps other ingredients—such as eggs and baking powder.
Battering your food coat them in a thicker and more goopy layer.
Your goal whenever you are frying food is to create delicious food that has a crunchy and delicious exterior with a moist and flavorful interior.
Batters and breadings are important in this process because they both serve the same basic purpose—to help seal in moisture.
You do not want the oil to immediately come into direct contact with the food because you are more likely to end up with food that is either burned or leathery.
Instead you want to create a barrier between the hot oil and the raw food that will help the food cook more gently and evenly, instead of burning.or turning leathery.
Breading not only serves these purposes, but also helps reduce spatter, adds a very subtle crunch, and aids with browning.
