Fritter
Encyclopedia
Batter (cooking)
Batter is a semi-liquid mixture of one or more flours combined with liquids such as water, milk or eggs used to prepare various foods. Often a leavening agent such as baking powder is included to aerate and fluff up the batter as it cooks, or the mixture may be naturally fermented for this purpose...
and deep fried. Although very similar to a doughnut
Doughnut
A doughnut or donut is a fried dough food and is popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty outlets...
it differs in the fact that it requires some base ingredient beyond the dough it is cooked with.
Anglo-American fritters
In BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
fish and chip
Fish and chips
Fish and chips is a popular take-away food in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada...
shops, the fish and chips can be accompanied by "fritters", which means a food item, such as a slice of potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
, a pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
ring, an apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
ring or chunks, or some mushy peas
Mushy peas
Mushy peas are dried marrowfat peas which are first soaked overnight in water and then simmered with a little sugar and salt until they form a thick green lumpy soup. They are a traditional British accompaniment to fish and chips and sometimes mint is used as a flavouring...
, fried in batter. Hence: "potato fritter", "pineapple fritter", "apple fritter", "pea
Pea
A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking...
fritter", etc.
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, fritters are small cakes made with a primary ingredient that is mixed with an egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
and milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
batter and either pan-fried or deep-fried; wheat flour, cornmeal, or a mix of the two may be used to bind the batter. "Corn fritters
Corn fritters
Corn Fritters are a savory snack. Traditional corn fritters are a mixture of corn kernels, egg, flour, milk, and melted butter. They can be deep fried, shallow fried, or baked and served with jam, fruit, honey, or cream. They may also be made with creamed corn, baked, and served with maple syrup.-...
" are often made with whole canned corn and are generally deep-fried. "Apple fritters" are well known, although the American apple fritter is unlike the British one. Clam cakes and crab cake
Crab cake
A crab cake is an American dish composed of crab meat and various other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, milk, mayonnaise, eggs, yellow onions, and seasonings. Occasionally other ingredients such as red or green peppers or pink radishes are added, at which point the cake is then sautéed, baked,...
s are varieties of fritter. Another regional favourite is the "zucchini
Zucchini
The zucchini is a summer squash which often grows to nearly a meter in length, but which is usually harvested at half that size or less. It is a hybrid of the cucumber. Along with certain other squashes, it belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo. Zucchini can be dark or light green...
fritter."
Corn fritters are a very popular menu item in cafes across Melbourne.
Asian fritters
In Burmese cuisine, fritters are called a-kyaw , while assorted fritters are called a-kyaw-sone.The most popular a-kyaw is the gourd fritter (ဘူးသီးကြော်). Diced onions, chickpea, potatoes, a variety of leafy vegetables, brown bean paste, Burmese tofu
Burmese tofu
Burmese tofu is a food of Shan origin and is different from Chinese tofu in that it is not made from soy milk and not set with a coagulant. Shan tofu is produced in a similar fashion to polenta, with its primary ingredient being water and flour ground from yellow split peas and the Burmese version...
, Chayote
Chayote
The chayote , also known as christophene, vegetable pear, mirliton, pear squash, christophine , chouchoute , choko , starprecianté, citrayota, citrayote , chuchu , chow chow , cho cho , sayote ,...
, banana and crackling are other popular fritter ingredients. Black beans are made into a paste with curry leaves to make bayagyaw - small fritters similar to Falafel
Falafel
Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans. Falafel is usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as lafa. The falafel balls are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces...
. Unlike pisang goreng, Burmese banana fritters are made only with overripe bananas with no sugar or honey added.
The savory fritters are eaten mainly at breakfast or as a tea snack. Gourd, chickpea and onion fritters are cut into small parts and eaten with Mohinga
Mohinga
Mohinga is Rice noodles in fish soup and considered by many to be the national dish of Burma. It is readily available in most parts of the country. In major cities, street hawkers and roadside stalls sell dozens of dishes of mohinga to the locals and passers-by...
, Myanmar's national dish. These fritters are also eaten with Kao hnyin baung The fritters are also eaten with Burmese salsa verde - called chin-saw-kar or a-chin-yay. Depending on the fritter hawker, the sauce is made from chili sauce diluted with vinegar, water, cilantro, finely diced tomatoes, garlic and onions.
In Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
assorted fritters is called gorengan , many kinds of fritters were sold on travelling cart or street side vendors. Various kinds of ingredients were battered and deep fried such as pisang goreng
Pisang goreng
Pisang goreng is a snack food mostly found throughout Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. In Singapore and some parts of Malaysia it is known as "goreng pisang" . It is consumed as a snack in the morning and afternoon...
(banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
fritter), tempeh
Tempeh
Tempeh , or tempe , is a traditional soy product originally from Indonesia. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form, similar to a very firm vegetarian burger patty...
, tahu goreng (fried tofu
Tofu
is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
), oncom
Oncom
Oncom is one of the traditional staple foods of West Javan cuisine. There are two kinds of oncom: red oncom and black oncom...
, sweet potato
Sweet potato
The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
, cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
chunk, cassava flour, breadfruit
Breadfruit
Breadfruit is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry family, Moraceae, growing throughout Southeast Asia and most Pacific Ocean islands...
, and flour with chopped vegetables (carrot and cabbage). Gorengan were usually eaten with fresh bird's eye chili. Another type of Indonesian fritter are perkedel jagung (corn fritter) and perkedel kentang (mashed potato fritter). In Malaysia and Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
, it is common for a variety of fritters, called "cucur" (such as yam
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
, sweet potato and banana) to be fried by the roadside in a large wok
Wok
A wok is a versatile round-bottomed cooking vessel originating in China. It is used especially in East and Southeast Asia.Woks are most often used for stir frying, but can also be used in other Chinese cooking techniques, such as in steaming, deep frying, braising, stewing, smoking, or making soup...
and sold as snack
Snack
A snack is a small portion of food eaten between meals. The food might be snack food—items like potato chips or baby carrots—but could also simply be a smaller amount of any food item.-Snacks and health:...
s.
In Japanese cuisine
Japanese cuisine
Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...
tempura
Tempura
], is a Japanese dish of seafood or vegetables that have been battered and deep fried.-Batter:A light batter is made of cold water and soft wheat flour . Eggs, baking soda or baking powder, starch, oil, and/or spices may also be added...
is vegetable or seafood dipped and fried in a light crispy batter and served as a common accompaniment to meals. Fritters are extremely popular roadside snacks all over South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
and are commonly referred to as Pakora
Pakora
Pakora is a fried snack found across South Asia. Pakoras are created by taking one or two ingredients such as onion, eggplant, potato, spinach, plantain, cauliflower, tomato, chilli, or occasionally bread or chicken and dipping them in a batter of gram flour and then deep-frying them...
(Pakoda) or Bhajji
Bhajji
For the Indian cricketer, see Harbhajan SinghFor the food item, see Bhajji Bhajji was a princely state in India. Until 1947, it was not part of British India but was subject to the suzerainty of the British crown....
(Bhajia) in local parlance - the onion bhaji also enjoys a high popularity abroad.
Although containing soft centres within fritters can be tricky, it is a common misconception that in this case they contain bread. Fritters are exclusively dough- or batter-based foodstuffs.
See also
- BeignetBeignetA beignet in the U.S. is a pastry made from deep-fried dough, much like a doughnut, and sprinkled with confectioner's sugar, or frostings. Savory versions of beignets are also popular as an appetizer, with fillings such as maple or fruit preserves....
- BuñuelosBuñuelosA Buñuelo alternatively called bimuelo, birmuelo, bermuelo, burmuelo, bonuelo; ) is a fried dough ball. It is a popular snack in Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Spain, Peru, the Philippines, Turkey, Greece, Morocco, and is a tradition at Christmas, Ramadan and among Sephardic Jews at...
- CarimañolaCarimañolaCarimañola is a Colombian and Panamanian dish that is a type of meat-pie. It is a torpedo-shaped yuca fritter, stuffed with cheese, seasoned ground meat or shredded chicken and fried. Carimañola is often served as a breakfast item in Colombia and Panama....
- CroquetteCroquetteA croquette is a small fried food roll containing, usually as main ingredients, mashed potatoes, and/or ground meat , shellfish, fish, vegetables, and soaked white bread, egg, onion, spices and herbs, wine, milk, beer or any of the combination thereof, sometimes with a filling, often encased in...
- CuchifritosCuchifritosCuchifritos refers to various fried foods prepared principally of pork, in Puerto Rican cuisine. They include a variety of dishes including but not limited to morcilla , papas rellenas , chicharron , and various other parts of the pig prepared in different ways...
- Fried dough foodsFried dough foodsMany cultures have dishes made by deep frying dough of one form or another. Doughnuts are a type of fried dough food that is covered separately in article "List of doughnut varieties".- Asia :*Central Asia**Boortsog...
- TempuraTempura], is a Japanese dish of seafood or vegetables that have been battered and deep fried.-Batter:A light batter is made of cold water and soft wheat flour . Eggs, baking soda or baking powder, starch, oil, and/or spices may also be added...
- Fritter rollFritter rollA fritter roll is a Scottish delicacy which can be found in many fish and chip shops ....
- VadaVadaVada ; also known as wada or vade or vadai , is a savoury fritter-type snack from South India.-Description:Vada can vary in shape and size, but are usually either doughnut- or disc-shaped and are about between 5 and 8 cm across. They are made from dal, lentil, gram flour or potato.Vada is a...
- Zucchini fritters
- Eggplant fritters
- Anchovy fritters
- Potato pancake