John Myers
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Frying chicken: This is how it works perfectly
Experts from the American Chemical Society have now scientifically proven why chicken fried in hot oil tastes so good.
- According to the experts, marinated meat should be roasted at temperatures between 150 and 190 degrees Celsius. The reason: At this temperature, oil produces so-called triglycerides.
- Triglycerides are the main components of human body fat. So fried chicken is not exactly the healthiest food.
- The scientists also point to the bubbles that form around the chicken as it roasts. The explanation: When it is hot, water escapes from the cells of the chicken and these form the bubbles in the oil.
- The bubbles are important for the perfect roasting of the chicken. They form a layer of steam around the chicken, protecting it from the oil and preventing the oil from seeping into the chicken during frying.
- This process pulls the water out of the skin and makes the crust nice and crispy.
Fried chicken: That’s why it smells slightly fishy
The chemists can also explain why fried chicken can sometimes give off a strange fishy smell.
- The strange smell is caused by oxidation when the chicken reacts with oxygen in the air.
- A gently fried chicken has a pleasant, buttery, and nutty flavor. The oxidation of certain fatty acids, such as linoleic acid, produces volatile compounds that not only smell bad but also travel very easily in the air – right into your nose.
- Such volatile compounds resulting from the oxidation of fatty acids include aldehyde and carboxylic acid.
- Both have a pungent odor. And because of this volatiles, the pleasant smell of the fried chicken is drowned out by a fishy smell.
- But you can easily avoid this fishy smell. Use a fryer deep enough to fully immerse the whole chicken in the hot oil.
- If the chicken lies wholly in the oil, less oxygen can reach the chicken and the oxidation that is responsible for the fishy smell does not occur.
- By the way, you should also regularly change the oil in the fryer to preserve all the chicken flavor. This also removes free fatty acids that form during frying.
