A batter is a semi-liquid mixture of a starch and various liquids including water, carbonated water, milk, eggs, and beer. A leavening agent such as baking powder may also be used. As with breadings, battered-fried foods have a golden-brown exterior and serve as a barrier between the hot oil and the food. Breading and fried items tend to have a crunchier exterior and batter-fried foods tend to have more of a cake-like exterior with tempura and beer batters the notable exceptions. Batter may be simple standalone preparations such a crêpe or pancake. Combined with other ingredients, a batter may be used in making items like fritters or hush puppies. Batters are also used as coatings for foods that will be deep fried such as a beer batter for fish or onion rings or a tempura batter.
- Cold batters tend to to fry up crisper. Use chilled ingredients when making a batter and keep the batter refrigerated.
- When mixing batters, first mix the wet and dry ingredients separately, then combine them.
- Be careful not to over mix the batter, especially when wheat flour has been used. Over mixing will develop the gluten and make tough crust.
- Mix only until the liquid and dry ingredients are just combined, even if there are some remaining lumps.
- Batters that are mixed until very smooth, like a crêpe batter are left to rest so that the developed gluten can relax.
- If using a leaving agent such as baking powder, whipped egg whites, beer or carbonated water, incorporate into the batter just prior to frying to preserve their leaving abilities.
- Items should be cut to even thicknesses to promote even cooking.
- As in breading, food is often lightly coated with a starch to allow the batter to better adhere to the foods.
- Foods should be patted dry prior to applying any coating or batter.
- After coating, fry the foods immediately.
- Season and serve immediately. Fried foods do not hold well.
Tempura Batter
Tempura was introduced to Japan by Portuguese Jesuit missionaries during the sixteenth century (1549). Tempura batter is a very light batter made with cold water, and soft wheat flour. Carbonated water is sometimes used along with eggs, baking soda or baking powder, other pure starches, oil and/or spices. Tempura batter is traditionally mixed in small batches using chopsticks for only a few seconds, leaving lumps in the mixture that, along with the cold batter temperature, result in the unique fluffy and crisp tempura structure when cooked. The batter is often kept cold by adding ice, or by placing the bowl inside a larger bowl with ice in it. Overmixing the batter will result in activation of wheat gluten, which causes the flour mixture to become chewy and dough-like when fried.
Tempura generally does not use breadcrumbs (panko) in the coating. Generally, fried foods which are coated with breadcrumbs are considered to be furai, Japanese-invented Western-style deep fried foods, such as tonkatsu or ebi furai (fried prawn).
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