The Struggle:
Let me paint a picture for you. You order your favorite fried food for takeout. Whether it be chicken, pickles, catfish, etc. You go to bite into it and you are greeted by a soggy mess. The underside of the crust has absorbed so much moisture that it is nearly inedible. You may be asking yourself, “Why, me” or “am I alone in this world”? Soggy crust is an ailment that affects 99% of fried food eaters. But fear not, today is a new day. Let us introduce you to an ingredient that will forever change the way you fry foods. If you want to keep your fried foods crispy for longer then look no further than EverCrisp. The best part is you do not need to consult a physician if you experience fried foods for longer than 3 hours and 47 minutes.
“How do I keep my fried foods crispy for longer?”
Crisp > Sog?
With all joking aside EverCrisp is quite the amazing ingredient when it comes to fried foods. But what is it and how exactly does it work? EverCrisp is a soluble fiber known as dextrin. Dextrin can be made from many different starches but we found wheat dextrin to be the best as it retains less oil than the others. The processing that EverCrisp undergoes in the manufacturing process removes the gluten from the wheat dextrin, making it effectively gluten free. Protein, especially gluten, loves water. So as the food releases some of its moisture after being fried, the gluten in the flour will soak it up. This is why some fried foods get soggy.
EveryCrisp does not absorb moisture as easily because gluten has been removed. By replacing some of the flour with EverCrisp you are also reducing the overall protein content in the breading or batter, and therefore the amount of moisture that is retained after frying. EverCrisp works great when replacing 20% of the flour in a batter or breading. But if you wanted to you could increase it to a maximum of 50%. Although at higher ratios you may notice the recipe alter slightly. So if you are just looking to improve a recipe you already love 20% is ideal.
EverCrisp isn’t a one trick pony either. One of my favorite tricks is adding EverCrisp to any short bread that contains butter. This fiber helps keep the gluten strands short and also adds an extra crisp to the exterior. So items like biscuits, cookies, and muffins work beautifully with EverCrisp.
Link to this recipe: https://blog.modernistpantry.com/recipes/nashville-style-hot-chicken/
Comments (4)
May 31, 2021 2:12 pm
I’m attempting a low-carb (read: diabetic-friendly) version of oreos – how much wheat dextrin should I use to improve the crispiness and overall texture of an almond-flour based cookie recipe so that it more closely resembles those iconic (but sugary and thus off-limits) treat?
June 1, 2021 11:36 am
For this, I would replace 10-20% of the total weight of the almond flour in the recipe
July 2, 2021 12:59 am
Have you tried adding EverCrisp to pie crust? I’m going to try replacing 20% of flour with EC but wondering if it’s been tested already. Didn’t see anyone online post about it but it seems like it would be ideal for pie crust.
July 6, 2021 11:32 am
We’ve done it with biscuits, which are a similar method to pie crust. We suggest starting at replacing 10% of the flour with EverCrisp to start. Good luck!