Corn/Potato/Rice/Flour starches in deep frying
Lately, I've been looking at a few deep fried recipes and have noticed different types of refined starches being used.
As far as cornstarch goes, I've seen a sweet potato and Idaho/Russet (normal) potato fry recipes that used cornstarch for crispiness. This bon apetit recipe uses a light coating of cornstarch as well. In this Chinese recipe, the egg plant is coated with cornstarch for crispiness as well. It would appear, that cornstarch seems to be favored for light coating.
Flour, seems to be much more widely used for heavier battering. Flour seems to be paired with baking powder in a lot of buttermilk fried chicken or fish recipes.
I also found a un-cited forum post on chow-hound which claims:
Corn starch is a bit crispier than flour, but if you want best results fro a single-layer fry coating then rice flour is the best. -RealMenJulienne
My question is what would happen if you subbed cornstarch for the flour dredging in something like buttermilk chicken? More crispiness? What about rice flour, is that the crispiest?
How do you choose the best starch/flour when choosing to deep fry foods?
*Note, if the scope is too wide, let's answer this question in the context of fried chickens dredged vs. lightly coated.
Best Answer
Imagine you fry it as a whole
If you want potato starch. Think, what it is like to fry a whole potato because potato starch come from potato. People cook base on recipe and lost interest in how the ingredient is made.
If you want crisp imaging what it like to deep fried rice. So, rice flour will make your food crispy.
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Is potato starch or corn starch better for frying?
Cornstarch is best for light pan-frying. Potato starch withstands higher temperatures much better. In fact, it's one of the most heat-resistant starches available. Substitute potato starch for cornstarch when using ultra-high temperature cooking methods like deep frying.Can you deep fry with potato starch?
Potato starch can be heated to high temperatures and it won't burn which makes it perfect for deep frying food. Continue reading if you want to learn more about why potato starch is the best alternative to cornstarch and what are other options you can choose from.Is rice flour good for deep frying?
The benefits of frying with rice flour aren't all aesthetic; it's healthier, too. \u201cRice flour absorbs less oil than other flours while frying, resulting in fewer calories from fat and a less oily product,\u201d says Mike Manno, research and development chef at CSSI, a foodservice agency.Is corn flour good for deep frying?
Both flour and cornstarch will fry foods, but they do have slight differences. Flour will do just fine as a breading, but it won't get as golden and it doesn't quite achieve that coveted crispiness. Many recipes\u2014e.g., fried chicken\u2014will call for a 50-50 amount of flour and cornstarch to achieve ultimate crisp.Should you be frying in POTATO STARCH or FLOUR?
More answers regarding corn/Potato/Rice/Flour starches in deep frying
Answer 2
Frying batters containing wheat flour may not get as crisp as batters containing Riceflower, Potato or Tapioca starch, or proprietary gluten-free self raising flour as the gluten that gives bread a nice chewy consistency can take away from the crispness of the batter
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: James Ampong Quilario, Satyam Verma, Eren Li, Kindel Media