Koopmans Batters (part II) - The Core
The inner core, the medium which we want to coat, has an important contribution to the quality and behavior of the coated end product. A lot can be gained in this in the process.
>There’s a whole world behind the science of coating food with batters!
Follow our blog’s the coming weeks to learn more about types of batters and their functions and about how to choose for the right solutions.
The Core – part II
The better the coating performs, in general this means no excessive amounts of water and fat are lost, which could have influenced the coating negative. A better binding will positively influence the quality of the products. Less shrinkage or swelling and especially a more equal coating and crispier layer without leaking spots on the product.
Sometimes the core is a natural product, so there is nothing to improve. Then you have to adapt your batter system. For example by adding functional ingredients to the predust, you can optimize the outcome towards the requirements. If the core is a combination of ingredients which we can mix, then a binding system can be applied to optimize the core. Koopmans Bind-it™ is for example a clean label solution in many cases to stabilize the core.
During the production process, various things can influence the quality of the coating. Like the mixing of the batter, quality of the oil or water temperature. If we look at the mixing of the batter, there are a number of basic rules that must be observed here.
The art of mixing
The purpose of mixing is to make a lump-free mix in which the protein structures can unfold (mix for 3-5 minutes) by using water. If the mixing time is too short, the proteins do not develop and therefore do not bind optimally to the water. The mix must be mixed quickly and intensively, but again not too intensively, which can cause small bubbles of air. This affects the batter in a negative way during cooking (frying), where the bubbles burst and cause the coating to break or leak.
Do you have a question?
Contact us if we can help you with any batter solution.