Type of Document	Master's Thesis
Author	Ballard, Tameshia Shaunt'a
Author's Email Address	tballard@vt.edu
URN	etd-09302003-161735
Title	Application of Edible Coatings in Maintaining Crispness of Breaded Fried Foods
Degree	Master of Science
Department	Biological Systems Engineering
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Mallikarjunan, Parameswarakumar Committee Chair Duncan, Susan E. Committee Member Vaughan, David H. Committee Member
Keywords	methylcellulose chicken nuggets whey protein isolate nitrogen gas pressure frying edible coatings crispness ultrasonic velocity
Date of Defense	2003-09-17
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract Crispness is one of the most desirable textural characteristics of breaded fried foods. Consumers often judge the quality of breaded fried foods based on the perceived crispness of the product. Furthermore, today's consumers are showing increasing concern over fat intake. As a result, there is great interest in being able to enhance the crispness and reduce the fat uptake in breaded fried foods without sacrificing other quality attributes. To achieve these goals, modifications to both frying equipment and product formulation have been explored in this study. In this study, two edible film coatings, methylcellulose (MC) and whey protein isolate (WPI) were incorporated into the batter and pre-dust to determine their effect on the crispness of breaded fried chicken nuggets held under a heat lamp for varying time intervals. Crispness was evaluated by both objective (ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation system) and subjective methods. An untrained sensory panel was used to obtain subjective measurements of product crispness. Panelists rated product attributes such as crispness, juiciness, oiliness and flavor on a simple intensity scale. Additionally, panelists rated the liking of the products on a nine-point hedonic scale (1=dislike extremely, 9=like extremely). Two pressure sources (nitrogen gas and steam naturally released from the food material) were used to determine their effects on product crispness, texture, pressed juice, moisture content, fat content and color. Products fried with nitrogen gas as the pressurizing medium produced samples that were comparable to or exceeding the quality of products generated by frying with steam, as it relates to product crispness, texture, pressed juice, moisture content, fat content and color. As related to objective crispness, chicken nuggets fried with nitrogen were significantly crispier (p<0.05) than those fried with steam. Coating type and application also had a significant effect on product crispness. Samples coated with MC in the pre-dust were crispier than samples coated with WPI. However, no significant differences were found in product crispness, juiciness, oiliness or flavor, and overall liking among samples tested by the sensory panel. The results of this study demonstrated that applying an edible film coating to the pre-dust and using nitrogen gas as the pressurizing medium can enhance and maintain the crispness of breaded fried foods.
Files	Filename       Size       Approximate Download Time (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)     28.8 Modem   56K Modem   ISDN (64 Kb)   ISDN (128 Kb)   Higher-speed Access    BallardThesis.pdf 950.27 Kb 00:04:23 00:02:15 00:01:58 00:00:59 00:00:05

If you have questions or technical problems, please Contact DLA.