Why Starch Gets Crispy When Fried | Cook's Illustrated (2024)

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Why Starch Gets Crispy When Fried | Cook's Illustrated? ›

The hydrated granules swell when they are initially heated in the oil, allowing the starch molecules to move about and separate from one another. As water is driven away during the frying process, these starch molecules lock into place, forming a rigid, brittle network with a porous, open structure.

The high temperature of the oil causes the water in the food to evaporate, creating a crispy exterior and a juicy interior. The oil also adds a rich and savory flavor to the food, as well as a moist and tender texture.

Some recipes—like Kenji's stir-fried crispy tofu—use cornstarch exclusively to achieve ultra-crispy textures. More starch means greater water absorption and enhanced gelatinization of starches; frying drives off water, leaving a porous, brittle network that we perceive as crunchy or crispy when we bite into it.

Corn Starch: Adding a thin coating of corn starch to the potato fries before frying can help create a crispier exterior. When the corn starch comes into contact with the hot oil, it forms a barrier that traps moisture within the potato while also developing a crunchy crust.

In addition to Maillard browning, frying also causes the water in food to evaporate. This evaporation creates a steam pressure that forces the food to expand. As the food expands, it forms a thin, crispy crust. The type of oil used for frying can also affect the crispiness of food.

The hydrated granules swell when they are initially heated in the oil, allowing the starch molecules to move about and separate from one another. As water is driven away during the frying process, these starch molecules lock into place, forming a rigid, brittle network with a porous, open structure.

The perfect temperature for frying foods is 375°F (190°C). This temperature provides the ideal combination of heat and oil saturation to achieve a crispy, golden-brown texture. However, some recipes may require higher or lower temperatures depending on the type of food being fried.

Cornstarch typically makes for a crispier finish than flour. Cornstarch absorbs moisture from the food and expands, giving deep-fried foods a crispy coating. When the food is fried, the moisture cooks out of the cornstarch, leaving a crackly, puffy coating on the outside.

Using cornstarch to fry foods will get you the golden color and extreme crunchiness. This is because cornstarch is almost completely starch whereas flour has a lower starch content because it also has gluten. Some recipes might even use only cornstarch to ensure the food gets ultimate crisp status.

Use Cornstarch or Rice Flour

Michael says that cornstarch or rice flour in combo with flour will give you the crunchiest batter. Even cake four will cook up crunchier than all-purpose flour because it doesn't have a high gluten level.

Can I use flour instead of cornstarch for crispy? ›

All-Purpose Flour

It also won't provide the same thin, shatteringly crisp crust cornstarch gives to some fried foods, but it can work for either situation in a pinch. Some tips: Use two tablespoons of flour for every tablespoon of cornstarch.

Cornstarch for Fried Dishes

You can use cornstarch instead of flour as a coating for fried chicken, fried fish, or other fried dishes. Cornstarch will create a crisper coating that will hold up to sauces better and will absorb less of the frying oil (leading to a lower-fat meal).

Potato starch can be used as a 1:1 substitute for cornstarch in just about any recipe: Use it in a dry dredge to give masala fried chicken a crispy shell, or add it to doughs or batters for snappier cookies and more tender baked goods.

When paired with all-purpose flour, cornstarch helps prevent gluten development, which makes the flour coating crispier, and absorb moisture (from the frying and the chicken), which also means a crispier coating. If you already have a favorite fried chicken recipe, try replacing a quarter of the flour with cornstarch.

A baking stone, or pizza stone, is a large piece of thick, ceramic tile that sits on the rack of your oven. By preheating the stone along with the oven to a high temperature—think in the 450°F to 500°F range—it picks up and retains a ton of heat that provides exceptional browning for your bottom crust.

Crispy Fry is a seasoned coating mix made from a combination of flour and aromatic spices, conveniently creating delicious flavor and crunch to your favorite fritters. Made from fine blend of flour with selected quality spices, Crispy Fry doesn't use preservatives.

Frying food in oil makes things crispy because oil conducts heat at a much higher temperature than water. So when hot oil makes contact with to-be-cooked food (which has moisture), it causes the water on the surface of the food to rapidly evaporate leading to a crispy texture.

As the oil heats food, it undergoes a number of chemical and physical changes, manifested as deterioration of the cooking oil. Such changes include: Hydrolysis, oxidation, isomerization, and polymerization. These result in the generation of free fatty acids, aldehydes, ketones, and other compounds (Bordin, 2013).

The scientific explanation for deep frying is that the water in the food is vaporized by the hot oil. The water rapidly converts to steam and escapes the food, leaving the food with a crispy, crunchy outer layer.