Effects of hydrocolloids on apparent viscosity of batters and quality of chicken nuggets

The effect of different types of starches and gums on batter consistency and the effect of batter consistency on quality parameters of deep-fat fried chicken nuggets were determined in this study. Consistency of batter was correlated with coating pickup and oil content of the product. Addition of different starch and gum species to batter was found to be effective for both viscosity development and quality attributes of deep-fat fried chicken nuggets. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose gum (HPMC), xanthan gum, and pregelatinized starch provided the highest consistency to the batters. Amylomaize starch addition to the batter formulation provided about 50% increase in texture of nuggets as compared to the control. Chicken nuggets coated with batters containing HPMC, xanthan, or guar gum had the lowest oil content. HPMC reduced oil content by about 54%, while the reduction in oil content was 40% and 33% in the case of xanthan and guar gum addition, respectively.