Why does fried food float

Excessive greasiness can also be caused by poor drainage or by sitting for too long before serving. Ironically, batch frying, which is supposed to alleviate greasiness, can be the very reason fried foods have to sit too long before serving. The solution once again is to keep that steam flowing! Sogginess is a particularly common problem with fried foods which have been coated with a batter or breading.

When food starts to cool, the moisture in the space between the crust and the food turns into water droplets instead of steam. This can make the crust soggy from the inside out and ruin your once crispy crust. Fried foods are often dipped in batters or breadings before being cooked. The purpose of these coatings is to protect food from the violent surface reactions of frying, retain moisture and provide a pleasant flavor and texture. Fish and Chips. Batters result in a smooth, crispy and often delicate crust.

Batter recipes vary widely, so results differ depending on ingredients. For example, high gluten flours result in a chewy some might say tough crust, whereas gluten-free flours like rice flour result in a paper-thin ultra-crispy crust think: Korean fried chicken.

Adding eggs or sugar to a batter will result in a darker crust, which may or may not be desirable. Batter coatings are smoother and have less surface area than most breaded coatings, so they tend to absorb less cooking oil.

They also tend to offer the most protection for delicate foods, which is why fish are commonly battered before frying think: fish and chips. Extra Crispy Fried Chicken.

Breadings result in a crispy, crunchy, textured crust. Fine breadcrumbs tend to absorb less oil then the extra-crispy style, since they provide less surface area for oil to soak into, but they are prone to sogginess.

Extra-crispy style breadings are usually achieved by incorporating large, already crispy particles, such as Panko-style breadcrumbs or cereal, such as cornflakes. This makes prep easy and accessible for the home cook. Take a look at the simple fried plantain salad I made while on vacation a few weeks ago.

Ingredients 1 plantain, mostly brown Soybean, vegetable, corn, peanut, or canola oil, enough to cover Salt and pepper to taste 1 tomato, diced Lime juice, to taste. Directions 1. If it bubbles, so will your plantains! Add them to the hot oil. Fry until the bubbling has slowed and they have a nice rich, golden brown color.

Drain onto a paper towel and season with salt and pepper immediately. Toss in a bowl with diced tomato and a bit of lime juice, to taste. Add additional salt and pepper if necessary. Serve immediately. There is a wide range of food that can be deep fried and the one thing that all of these foods have in common is that they are classified as "tender.

Examples would be: All seafood, young classes of poultry, all vegetables, all fruits, meat from the loin area of the animal, and of course Food that is going to be deep fried is usually coated with a batter wet coating or a breading dry coating. A chef will select a batter when they want a lighter, thinner style coating on the food. The chef will choose a breading when a thicker heavier coating is desired. These coatings are applied to the food being cooked in order to retain the moisture in the food and to stop the food from absorbing excessive amounts of the fat it is being cooked in.

Making sure all items that are being fried are of the same shape and portion size is a must so that they will cook evenly and finish at the same time. Many options are out there. You want to select a fat based on smoke point temperature at which a fat starts to break down , and flavor transfer to food. The smoke point you want begins at degrees. Below is a list of fats with smoke and flash points. Some options include butter, lard, soybean oil, canola oil, peanut oil, and vegetable shortening.

Fryer fat is damaged by salt, water, overheating, food particles and oxygen. You should change your fryer fat when it becomes dark, smokes, foams or develops off flavors. Keep in mind that the cheapest oils are not always the most cost-effective. Asked 2 months ago. Active 2 months ago.

Viewed times. Improve this question. Greybeard Greybeard 1, 1 1 gold badge 7 7 silver badges 30 30 bronze badges. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. LightBender LightBender 1, 7 7 silver badges 15 15 bronze badges. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google. Sign up using Facebook. Sign up using Email and Password. Post as a guest Name. Email Required, but never shown.