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S: Sensory and Nutritive Qualities of Food

Effects of Rice Batter on Oil Uptake and Sensory Quality of Coated Fried Okra
ETT APHNE F. FRED F. SHIH, KAREN L. BETT-GARBER, KIM W. DAIGLE, AND DAPHNE INGRAM

ABSTRACT Okr CT: kra fried sources rice flour, mixture rice ABSTRACT: Okra was coated and deep-fat fried with batters of flour sources including rice flour, a mixture of rice pregelatiniz rice egelatinized control, traditional flour. flour and small amounts of pregelatinized rice flour (PGRF), and, as a control, traditional wheat flour. The addition PGRF, proper operties rice batter. Oil fried of PGRF, up to 8%, enhanced batter viscosity and the coating properties of the rice batter. Oil uptake of the fried decreased PGRF. fried batters, PGRF, wer ere batter decreased with the addition of up to 5% PGRF. Rice flour fried batters, with and without PGRF, were found to low by compared batter. fried okra absorb substantially low er oil, by as much as 51%, compared with the wheat batter. The fried okra coated with the PGRF, evaluated sensory proper operties appearance surface attributes ibutes, r ice batter containing 5% PGRF, when evaluated for sensory properties on appearance and surface attributes, was superior rice PGRF. Particularly, articularly found to be superior or equal to those with the wheat batter and rice batter without PGRF. Particularly, its golden bro considered more desirable yello ellow entities. Similarly imilarly, brown color is considered more desirable than the lighter yellow color of the other 2 entities. Similarly, most of its after-chew proper operties wer ere wer ere normal range commercially available 1st-bite and after-chew properties were slightly better and were in the normal range of commercially available products Specifically oducts. pecifically, distinctive crispiness considered positive attribute whereas ibute, products. Specifically, its distinctive crispiness is considered a positive attribute, whereas its slightly higher tooth packing properties, while remaining in the range of commercial products, may be noticeable to some consumers. eywords: rice batter, fried okra, uptake, sensory Keywords: rice batter, fried okra, oil uptake, sensory quality

Introduction
ice ingredients are popular for use in foods because they are known to be nutritious, gluten free, and hypoallergenic (Helm and Burks 1996; Yokoyama 2004). They are particularly desirable for use in infant foods or in products for people with celiac disease (gluten intolerance) (Zain and Ahamad 1985; Gallagher and others 2004). They also have the unique functional property of low oil uptake during frying, which is essential for the development of low oil food products (Mohamed and others 1998; Shih and Daigle 1999). Crispy coatings are a critical part of the acceptance of fried foods. However, they normally absorb great amounts of oil during frying, which has become a concern because excessive oil consumption is known to contribute to obesity and many other health problems (Robert 1989). Theories on oil retention in fried foods have not been fully established. Some studies suggested that, during frying, oil simply replaces moisture that is evaporated or lost (Gamble and others 1987; Rice and Gamble 1989). Among other factors, food components and their interactions appear to play an important role in determining the oil-moisture relationship during the frying of food and, in turn, the oil uptake. Essentially, mechanisms that enable the formation of oil-barrier films or increase the water-holding capacity may reduce oil uptake (Duxbury 1989; Balasubramaniam and others 1997; Lin and Mei 2000). Thus, gums, proteins, and modified starches, including methylcellulose (Pinthus and others 1993), proteins (Mohamed and others 1998), and rice flour (Mohamed and others 1998; Shih and Daigle 1999), have been used as additives in the preparation of reduced-oil food products. Batters have been used commercially in coating a wide variety of fried foods. However, while information is readily available in the literature on coated and uncoated animal foods, such as fried chickMS 20040231 Submitted4/15/04, Revised 6/30/04, Accepted 9/7/04. The authors are with USDA-Southern Regional Research Center, 1100 Robert E. Lee Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70124. Direct inquiries to author Shih (E-mail: fshih@srrc.ars.usda.gov).

en drumsticks and fish sticks, relatively fewer studies are reported on coated fried foods of vegetable sources (Makinson and others 1987). Particularly lacking is information on the evaluation of oil uptake and sensory quality of fried vegetables. In this report, we coated and fried okra with batter formulations of various flour sources, including rice flour, a mixture of rice flour and pregelatinized rice flour (PGRF), and traditional wheat flour. We then investigated and evaluated the oil uptake and sensory properties of fried products.

Materials and Methods

Materials
Long grain rice flour (RL) and PGRF (Remyflo R500P) were provided by Riceland (Stuttgart, Ark., U.S.A.) and A&B Ingredients (Fairfield, N.J., U.S.A.), respectively. Wheat flour (Pillsbury All Purpose Flour, The Pillsbury Co., Minneapolis, Minn., U.S.A.), okra, and frying oil (LouAna vegetable oil, Ventura Foods, Opelousas, La., U.S.A.) were purchased from a local market. All other chemicals used were of reagent grade and safe for human consumption.

Preparation of batter slurry

A solid mixture was prepared containing common ingredients (1.0% sodium bicarbonate, 3.0% sodium chloride, and 0.72% sodium pyrophosphate) and 95.28% flour (wheat flour, rice flour, or a mixture of rice flour and various amounts of PGRF). Batter slurries of constant solid content were prepared by adding 50 g of the solid mixture to 60 g deionized water. The batter slurry was mixed for 5 min at room temperature, equilibrated for another 5 min, and then analyzed for viscosity. Batter viscosity was determined using an RVA-3D analyzer (Foss Food Technology Co., Eden Prairie, Minn., U.S.A.). Batter slurry (28 g) was placed in the sample cup and the viscosity in centipoise or Rapid Visco Unit (RVU) was read after spinning, 1st at 960 rpm for 10 s and then at 160 rpm for the remaining time, a total of 4 min at 30 C. Batter slurries of comparable viscosity were also prepared by
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S: Sensory & Nutritive Qualities of Food

S18 JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCEVol. 70, Nr. 1, 2005 Published on Web 12/22/2004

Rice batter coated fried okra . . .

Table 1Sensory appearance and texture attributes Appearance Color description: the actual color name describing the batter, such as from yellow to brown, and so forth 0 = yellow to 15 = brown Evenness of coating: the evenness of distribution of the batter over the product 0 = uneven/blotchy to 15 = even Surface consistency/texture: the amount of irregularity, protrusions, grains, or bumps, which can be seen on the surface of the product (batter) 0 = smooth to 15 = rough Surface shine: amount of light reflected from the products surface 0 = dull to 15 = shiny Adherence of coating: the amount of adherence of the coating to the product after frying 0 = no adherence to 15 = much adherence Surface attributes Roughness: the amount of particles, bumps, protrusions, or craters in the surface 0 = JELL-O brand gelatin to 15 = FINN CRISP rye wafer Surface greasiness/oiliness: the amount of oil on the surface 0 = unsalted saltines to 7a = hot dog (did not have a numerical reference for 15) First bite Hardness: the force to compress between the molars 1a = cream cheese to 14.5a = LifeSavers hard candy Cohesiveness: the degree to which sample deforms rather than crumbles, cracks, or breaks. 1a = cornbread muffin to 15 = Freedent chewing gum Crispiness: the force and noise with which a product breaks or fractures (rather than deforms) when chewed with molar teeth (1st and 2nd chew). 2a = Quaker low fat granola bar to 17a = Melba toast Chew down Cohesiveness of mass: the degree to which a chewed sample (at 10 to 15 chews) holds together in a mass 0 = shoestring licorice to 15 = raw Pillsbury biscuit dough After swallowing (or expectorating) Residuals: the amount of particles remaining in the mouth after swallowing 0 = no particles to 15 = many particles (4.5 = cooked spaghetti) Tooth packing/tooth sticking: the degree to which product sticks on the surface of the teeth 0 = canned mini clams to 15.0 = Jujubes candy Mouthcoating (oily): the amount of greasiness/oiliness remaining on the mouth surface 5a = Great ValueTM brand canned/baked biscuits to 9a = Pillsbury GrandsTM baked biscuits
a Some attribute scales were well defined in Meilgaard and others (1999), but do not have intensity references for the values of 0 or 15 or were developed at Southern Regional Research Center (SRRC). References for the extreme ends of the scale were not identified or found.

adding various amounts of deionized water to 50 g of the solid mixture to achieve a viscosity of 1440 to 1740 cP (120 to 145 RVU). The slurry was then used for okra coating and frying.

Coating and frying of okra

A 5.7-L Dazey deep-fryer (Dazey Co., New Century, Kans., U.S.A.) with a strainer was used for the frying experiment. The heating was controlled by a temperature controller, Therm-OWatch L6-1000SS (Instruments for Research and Industry, Cheltenham, Pa., U.S.A.). The oil bath, filled to a depth of 4.5 cm with 1.4 L of the vegetable oil, was heated at 177 C. Okra pieces were dipped and coated evenly in the batter slurry before being dropped into the fryer. After frying for 7 min, the batter-coated okra was cooled on the strainer and weighed. The fried batter crust was peeled from the okra and weighed. It was then ground in liquid nitrogen, and the resulting powder was used for oil analysis.

was full. Carbon dioxide (65 mL) was used to extract the sample at 7500 psi and 100 C, and the restrictors were set at 140 C. The flow rate was 2.5 to 2.7 mL/min (Shih and others 2004). The oil content was calculated from the weight gain of the oil collected in tubes packed with 1.5 g of glass wool during the extraction.

Sensory analysis
Ten panelists trained in the principles and concepts of descriptive analysis (Meilgaard and others 1999) and 1 to 10 y of experience participated in the study. The panelists were screened for interest, availability, and normal abilities to determine textural intensities. During the original training process, panelists learned fundamental properties of sensory evaluation, how to describe textural properties in common food products, development of texture definitions and methods of evaluating texture, and developing intensity scales for individual sensory properties. The fried okra lexicon used was developed at the USDAs Southern Regional Research Center (SRRC). It included 5 appearance and 10 texture attributes (Table 1). The appearance attribute scales were developed exclusively for fried okra. Panelists were given anchors for the extreme ends of the scale. The line scale was unstructured, and panelists were instructed to mark the line at the point that placed the sample in proportion to the extreme reference points. Anchored intensity line scales were used to evaluate the texture attributes (Meilgaard and others 1999).
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Oil analysis
Oil content was analyzed using a supercritical fluid extraction system (SFX 220, ISCO, Lincoln, Nebr., U.S.A.). The sample cartridge was loosely filled with 1 g of Ottawa sand (EM Science, Gibbstown, N.J., U.S.A.) at the exit end of the cartridge, followed by 1 g of diatomaceous earth and 1.5 to 3.0 g of ground batter until the cartridge
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S: Sensory & Nutritive Qualities of Food

Rice batter coated fried okra . . .

Table 2Oil uptake of fried okra as a function of batter compositiona Batter composition RF (%) A 100 98 95 92 (wheat) 0 2 5 8 561 546 1350 2345 2003 PGRF (cP) B 1504 1558 1671 1715 1509 A 29.0 0.1 28.5 0.6 22.0 0.2 24.5 1.1 44.6 0.3 (%) B 26.3 0.6 27.3 0.9 28.0 1.0 29.2 1.0 44.0 0.2 A 45.5 45.5 45.5 45.5 45.5 (%) B 52.1 51.1 47.6 45.0 44.5 Batter viscosity Oil uptake Solid content

a A = samples prepared at a constant batter solid content; B = samples adjusted with water to achieve a comparable batter viscosity.

Texture scales were universal for all foods and not specific for fried okra. Each scale was uniquely developed for each texture attribute (Meilgaard and others 1999) and anchored with 2 or more points using the intensity of the attribute in commercial products. Texture intensity references are selected from commercial products so that they represent the attribute at different intensities to help the panelists set the scale in their minds. Published attributes (Meilgaard and others 1999) were developed by trained panels from 2 food research or technical centers. Texture attributes developed at SRRC were developed by our panelists under the guidance of a qualified panel leader. They take food items with the texture attribute and give scores to the attribute. The group of panelists come to consensus on the score for each anchor (food product). If attribute intensity exceeds 15, the scale can be expanded; however, none of our samples approached 15, so we left the line scale end-point at 15 with most samples having the highest anchor at an intensity at or below 15. Scores were recorded on a computerized ballot system (Compusense FIVE, Compusense Inc., Guelph, Ontario, Canada). The study consisted of 2 sessions in which fried okra samples were presented, immediately after cooking, draining, and portioning onto Styrofoam plates, at 15min intervals and analyzed under cool white fluorescent lights. A standard and 3 experimental samples were evaluated during a taste session. Each experimental sample was presented twice during the study. Each panelists samples consisted of 5 pieces of fried okra within a given formulation for evaluation of texture. The standard, which was a commercially available fried okra product, was presented and scored at the beginning of each session and served as a means of calibration for the panelists. In addition, this data served as a point of discussion for relating the experimental products to a commercially available product. Panelists were divided into 2 groups for sensory assessments. At a large table, 1 group assessed the appearance of 1 shared sample in which 2 of the 5 fried okra pieces were halved to provide a cross-sectional view, whereas the other group conducted texture evaluations at individual test stations. Each group rotated so that appearance and texture descriptors were evaluated by each panelist for all samples. All panelists evaluated appearance on the same 5-piece sample and evaluated texture on their own 5-piece sample. Distilled, filtered water (Hydrotech drinking water filtration system, Valencia, Calif., U.S.A.) was used to cleanse the mouth between samples.

Results and Discussion

Effect of batter viscosity
When rice batter slurries were prepared containing a constant total solid content, batter viscosity changed, depending on the batter composition. For comparison, the traditional wheat flour batter was also prepared. As shown in Table 2, the batter of rice flour alone had the lowest viscosity of 561 cP (46.8 RVU). It increased with increased PGRF in the rice batter. At 8% PGRF, the viscosity was 2340 cP (195 RVU), surpassing that of the traditional wheat batter. Oil uptake decreased with increased viscosity, and it reached a low of 22% oil at the viscosity corresponding to the 5% PGRF, before rising with further increases in PGRF and viscosity. Nevertheless, the oil uptake of rice batters was invariably substantially lower than that of the wheat batter. Batter viscosity not only affected the oil uptake of the fried batter, but also the effectiveness of the food-coating operation. Batter viscosities lower than 1200 cP (100 RVU) are too thin to coat okra effectively, resulting in a poorly formed batter crust with a relatively high percentage oil uptake. On the other hand, batters with higher than 2400 cP (200 RVU) viscosities are too thick to coat the okra evenly, resulting in a lumpy and overly puffy fried batter crust. Also, the thick and uneven coatings are often undercooked and result in inconsistent or unusually low percentage oil-uptake values.

Effect of PGRF
For practical purposes, the addition of PGRF is required to develop the needed viscosity and enhance the coating properties for the rice batter. However, to offset the effect of viscosity on oil uptake, a comparable batter viscosity in the range of 1440 to 1740 cP (120 to 145 RVU) was established for all the batters by adjusting the water content. The results are also shown in Table 2. As the batter viscosity is now comparable, oil uptake of the fried batters depends solely on the batter composition. Noticeably, the oil uptake of the fried rice-batters remains substantially lower than that of the wheat batter, indicating the unique ability of rice ingredients in absorbing less oil during frying. However, the oil uptake of rice batters as a group remains practically unchanged, with or without the addition of PGRF. Apparently, the addition of PGRF in small amounts (<8%) was less of a factor on oil uptake when the viscosity was adjusted to a comparable level, than the 92% plus rice flour, which dominated the frying properties of the batter.

S: Sensory & Nutritive Qualities of Food

Statistical analysis
Experimental design for the sensory data was a randomized complete block design with panelists as blocks. Analysis of variance was accomplished on each sensory attribute with PROC GLM (SAS, Release 8.2, 1999-2001, Cary, N.C., U.S.A.). Tukeys HSD (honestly significant difference) was used for mean comparisons with the -level set at 0.1.
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Sensory evaluation
For sensory evaluation, fried okra samples were prepared by using 3 different batter formulations, based on the main flour component used, including wheat flour, rice flour, and mixed rice flour
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Rice batter coated fried okra . . .

(a mixture of rice flour with 5% PGRF). Evaluations were conducted according to the attributes as shown in Table 1, and results of the evaluation are shown in Figure 1. from the others. The mixed rice flour and the rice flour formulations were significantly crispier than the wheat flour formulation, which is likely a positive attribute. Of the after-swallowing texture attributes, mouth coating did not change between the 3 formulations. The residual particles were higher in the mixed rice flour formulation than the wheat flour. The rice flour was not different from the other 2 formulations. The tooth packing/tooth stick was significantly higher in the mixed rice flour formulation than the other 2 formulations. Tooth packing/tooth sticking is the only attribute that may need some adjustment. It is not known how far from commercially available products that this attribute can go and still be acceptable to consumers.

Appearance
The 3 formulations did not differ significantly in evenness of coating, surface consistency, surface shine, or adherence of coating. Of the 5 visual properties, including color description, evenness of coating, surface consistency, surface shine, and adherence of coating, only color description resulted in a statistically significant difference. The color of the mixed rice flour formulation resulted in a desirable golden brown product (intensity score of 7.1). Meanwhile, the wheat flour (3.1) and the rice flour (3.0) formulations gave a lighter and more yellow product. The mixed rice sample with its golden brown color looked more like the golden brown of the commercial sample used for calibration at the beginning of the panel than the wheat-based batter did, which indicates that it was in the commercially acceptable range.

Conclusions
ow oil-uptake batters for the coating of okra have been formulated using rice flour and small amounts of the modified rice flour PGRF. The addition of PGRF provided the needed viscosity to the batter slurry for coating, and, at 5%, effectively lowered the oil uptake of the fried batter by up to 51% compared with that of the wheat batter. Based on the sensory evaluation, the same batter has some superior properties, such as crispiness or cohesiveness, which are quite desirable. It has good browning properties. Its tooth packing/tooth stick properties are a little high, but probably not out of the range of consumer acceptability.

Mouth-Feel
Of the 2 surface texture properties, roughness and surface greasiness, only roughness had any significant difference. The 2 rice formulations appeared to be slightly rougher than the wheat formulation. Commercial products can have cornmeal added, which makes them quite rough. Therefore, the greater roughness of the rice flour and mixed rice flour treatment may not be an issue with consumer acceptance. Hardness, cohesiveness, and crispiness were 1st-bite properties and resulted in mean differences that were statistically significant. The rice flour formulations were harder than the wheat flour formulation, but the rice flour formulation was not out of the normal range of the commercially available product (mean of commercial product is 5.4 SE of 0.52). The cohesiveness in mixed rice flour formulation was significantly less than in the wheat flour formulation. Meanwhile, the rice flour formulation was not statistically different

Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Myrna Franklin for her participation and assistance in the okra coating and frying experiments.

References
Balasubramaniam VM, Chinnan MS, Mallikarjunan P, Phillips RD. 1997. The effect of edible film on oil uptake and moisture retention of a deep-fat fried poultry product. J Food Proc Eng 20:1729. Duxbury DD. 1989. Oil/water barrier properties enhanced in fried food batters. Food Proc 50(2):667. Gallagher E, Gormley TR, Arendt EK. 2004. Recent advances in the formulation of gluten-free cereal-based products. Trends Food Sci Technol 15:14352. Gamble MH, Rice P Selman JD. 1987. Relationship between oil uptake and mois, ture loss during frying of potato slices from cv. Record U.K. tubers. Int J Food Sci Technol 22:23341. Helm RM, Burks AW. 1996. Hypoallergenicity of rice protein. Cereal Foods World 41:83943. Lin KW, Mei MY. 2000. Influences of gums, soy protein isolate, and heating temperatures on reduced-fat meat batters in a model system. J Food Sci 65(1):48 52. Makinson JH, Greenfield H, Wong ML, Wills RBH. 1987. Fat uptake during deepfat frying of coated and uncoated foods. J Food Compos Anal 1:93101. Meilgaard M, Civille GV, Carr BT. 1999. Sensory evaluation techniques. 3rd ed. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press. 387 p. Mohamed S, Hamid NA, Hamid MA. 1998. Food components affecting the oil absorption and crispness of fried batter. J Sci Food Agric 78:3945. Mohamed S, Lajis SM, Hamid NA. 1995. Effects of protein from different sources on the characteristics of sponge cakes, rice cakes, doughnuts and frying batters. J Sci Food Agric 68:2717. Pinthus EJ, Weinberg P, Saguy IS. 1993. Criterion for oil uptake during deep-fat frying. J Food Sci 58:2046, 222. Rice P, Gamble MH. 1989. Technical note: modeling moisture loss during potato slice frying. Int J Food Sci Technol 24:1837. Robert C. 1989. Fast-food fare: consumer guidelines. N Engl J Med 321:7526. Shih FF, Bou SM, Daigle KW, Shih BY. 2004. Effects of flour sources on acrylamide formation and oil uptake in fried rice batters. J Am Oil Chem Soc 81(3):2658. Shih FF, Daigle KW. 1999. Oil uptake properties of fried batters from rice flour. J Agric Food Chem 47(4):16115. Yokoyama W. 2004. Nutritional properties of rice and rice bran. In: Champagne ET, editor. Rice: chemistry and technology. 3rd ed. St. Paul, Minn.: American Assn. of Cereal Chemists. p 595609. Zain AM, Ahamad ZC. 1985. Formulation and acceptance of rice-based baby food. Asian Food J 1:1468.

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Figure 1Sensory evaluation means and standard errors of 3 fried okra samples with batter coatings of rice flour batter, wheat flour batter, and mixed rice flour batter containing 5% pregelatinized rice flour