Microstructural Properties of Deep-Fat Fried Chicken Nuggets Coated with Different Batter Formulation

Figures & data

Table 1 Composition and particle size of wheat and rice flour

Flour type	Wheat (%w/w)	Rice (%w/w)
Protein	13.3 (10.33)	7.2 (5.95)
Moisture content	11.6 (11.92)	11.0 (11.9)
Ash	0.43 (0.47)	0.6 (0.6)
Fiber	3.3 (2.7)	0.7 (2.4)
Crude fat	0.88 (0.98)	0.5 (0.3)
Particle size	24 μm	105 μm
Numbers in parenthesis are values provided by USDA.[28]

Figure 1 Grayscale and binarized image of a formulated coating (100% wheat flour + 1% CMC) of deep-fat fried chicken nuggets.

Figure 2 Three-dimensional images of formulated batter coating of fried chicken nuggets: (A) 100% wheat flour; (B) 100% wheat flour plus 1% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC); (C) 70% wheat flour + 30% rice flour + 1% CMC; (D) 50% wheat and rice flours + 1% CMC; (E) 30% wheat flour + 70% rice + CMC; (F) 100% rice flour + 1% CMC. (Figure provided in color online.)

Figure 3 The bar chart of pore volume frequency over the pore size distribution. (Figure provided in color online.)

Figure 4 The cumulative pore volume against pore size distribution. (Figure provided in color online.)

Table 2 Pore parameters of deep-fat fried chicken nuggets coating formulated from wheat and rice flour and fried at 180°C for 4 min

Sample	Porosity	Structure model index	Fragmentation index, 1/mm	PSA/PV, 1/mm	Fractal dimension	Number of pores
W100R0 + CMC0%	24.33 ^ab	2	9.82^a	28.62^a	2.16^a	291^bc
W100R0 + CMC1%	18.21^a	3	13.72^c	31.35^a	2.04^a	341^c
W70R30 + CMC1%	32.18^b	2	9.47^ab	27.44^a	2.29^a	181^ab
W50R50 + CMC1%	31.77^b	2	10.02^b	26.00^a	2.24^a	196^ab
W30R70 + CMC1%	28.17^b	2	9.94^b	24.60^a	2.17^a	234^abc
W0R100 + CMC1%	27.99^b	2	7.51^a	19.31^a	2.11^a	127^a
Means with different letter superscript in the same column are significantly different. W: wheat; R: rice; CMC: carboxymethyl cellulose; PSA: pore surface area; and PV: pore volume.

Figure 5 Moisture content of batter fried at 180°C for 4 min as a function of the coating formulation: (A) 100% wheat flour; (B) 100% wheat flour plus 1% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC); (C) 70% wheat flour + 30% rice flour + 1% CMC; (D) 50% wheat and rice flours + 1% CMC; (E) 30% wheat flour + 70% rice + CMC; (F) 100% rice flour + 1% CMC.

Figure 6 Final fat content of the coating (fried at 180°C for 4 min) plot against the batter formulation: (A) 100% wheat flour; (B) 100% wheat flour plus 1% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC); (C) 70% wheat flour + 30% rice flour + 1% CMC; (D) 50% wheat and rice flours + 1% CMC; (E) 30% wheat flour + 70% rice + CMC; (F) 100% rice flour + 1% CMC. (Figure provided in color online.)

Table 3 Power law properties of batter with different composition of wheat and rice flour, and CMC content

Sample	K (Pa.s^n)	n	R^2	Error
W100R0 + CMC0%	14.08	0.40	0.99	2.75
W100R0 + CMC1%	26.59	0.49	0.99	9.64
W70R30 + CMC1%	32.88	0.45	1.00	3.56
W50R50 + CMC1%	26.79	0.43	1.00	2.26
W30R70 + CMC1%	21.81	0.39	1.00	2.26
W0R100 + CMC1%	19.21	0.45	0.99	3.46

Figure 7 Batter viscosity for different flour formulation as a function of shear rate. (Figure provided in color online.)

Table 4 Batter pickup for the formulated coating and texture property of the fried

Sample	Batter pickup, %	EBP, J (×10^−3)
W100R0 + CMC0%	45.11^a	12.86^a
W100R0 + CMC1%	83.92^c	16.64^ab
W70R30 + CMC1%	68.39^bc	24.77^ab
W50R50 + CMC1%	72.21^bc	24.73^ab
W30R70 + CMC1%	55.70^ab	25.48^ab
W0R100 + CMC1%	37.93^a	38.68^b
Mean with different letter superscript in the same column are significantly different at P < 0.05; EBP: Energy to break point.

Table 5 Color parameters as affected by coating compositions after frying

Sample	L*	a*	b*	Chroma value, C*	Hue value, H (°)
W100R0 + CMC0%	68.32^bc	2.06^a	26.87^a	26.95^a	85.60^ab
W100R0 + CMC1%	73.41^a	0.92^a	26.16^a	26.17^a	87.98^b
W70R30 + CMC1%	70.98^ab	2.80^a	28.64^a	28.86^ab	87.04^ab
W50R50 + CMC1%	71.06^bc	3.10^a	31.17^b	31.32^bc	82.11^a
W30R70 + CMC1%	62.80^c	4.38^a	33.12^b	33.48^c	83.57^ab
W0R100 + CMC1%	65.05^c	3.87^a	29.40^ab	29.68^bc	83.54^ab
Mean with different letter superscript in the same column are significantly different at P < 0.05.

Table 6 Pearson correlation between microstructural parameter and some physicochemical properties of the fried batter coating

	Moisture content	Fat content	Batter pickup	Consistency index	Texture	Porosity
Moisture content	1	−0.97*	0.79	0.47	−0.62	−0.62
Fat content	−0.97*	1	−0.75	−0.56	0.62	0.46
Batter Pickup	0.79	−0.75	1	0.76	−0.37	−0.21
Consistency index	0.47	−0.56	0.76	1	0.09	0.32
Texture	−0.62	0.62	−0.37	0.09	1	0.53
Porosity	−0.62	0.46	−0.21	0.32	0.53	1
*Significant at P < 0.05.

United State Department of Agriculture Nutritional value of Foods: NDB-20081 and 20061. Nutrient Data Laboratory USDA Washington DC 2008 http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ (http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/)

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