Porosity determination of deep-fat-fried coatings using pycnometer (Fried batter porosity determination by pycnometer)

The effect of processing conditions such as frying time and temperature, and batter formulation on pore development in deep-fat fried chicken nuggets coatings were studied using helium pycnometer method. Chicken nuggets with preformed and laboratory prepared batter coatings were fried at temperatures between 170 and 190°C for a time range between 0 and 240s. There was significant (P<0.05) effect of frying temperature and batter formulation on porosity. Porosity increased with frying time and temperature, and ranged between 2.15 and 47.92% for the preformed batter and 9.96 and 54.76% for the formulated batters. Apparent and bulk densities of the preformed batters increased and decreased with frying time, respectively, but both declined gradually with increasing frying temperature. As the level of rice flour in the formulation increased, apparent and bulk densities also increased. Batter formulation and frying temperature significantly (P<0.05) influenced the variation in moisture and fat content of the fried batter. Porosity demonstrated positive and negative correlation with fat uptake and moisture loss, respectively, for all the batter coatings.