Deed fried fruit will impress your guests every time, but there are some things you must know before you try this culinary trick.
Deep frying fruit gives rise to new flavor and texture experiences, but there are some professional tips about applying this cooking method to fruit that can save you a lot of trouble:
Water and oil an explosive mix
Fruit and berries, as most home cooks are aware, contain large amounts of water. This can be the cause of a violent reaction if too much water comes in contact with the boiling oil. You might find the walls in your kitchen covered in oil, or, in the worst case, you might be hit by the oil yourself – or find yourself fighting a fire on your stove. therefore:
How it's done:
• Choose "dry" fruits for deep frying. Deep fried banana with vanilla ice cream and honey is an old classic, and there is a reason why someone chose this mushy – rather than watery – fruit.
• Peel the fruit and cut it into smaller pieces or segments. Place them on a clean side towel to suck up some of the moisture. Note: Some fruits go brown so fast that you have to skip this process.
• Dip the pieces – for example, when deep frying apple – in a little ordinary wheta flour mixed with cinnamon before you dip them in the batter. The dry flour and the dry spice will make the fruit a little less watery.
• The batter mustn't be too runny. Like pancake batter, or even firmer.
• Use a deep frier or cooking pot with plenty of margin between the surface of the oil and the edge of the pot.
• Prepare a skimmer, tweezers, etc, before you start. Turn the pieces of fruit into the oil gently using the skimmer, not too much at a time.
• Also prepare a large lid in case the reaction turns violent. If there is a fire, do not try to put it out with water.
• The temperature should be 180°C (356°F) at the most. The batter-covered pieces of fruit should turn golden brown. Expect the batter to take one or two minutes to cook through – the fruit inside only needs to heat up to become delicious...
Suitable fruit for deep frying
Apart from the "wateriness" of the fruit, there is nothing to stop you from experimenting with all kinds: Banana, apple, pomelo (drier than other citrus fruits), strawberries, physalis, kiwi, pineapple, peaches, dates, etc.
Not so suitable: For example, "water bombs" like grapes and cherries.
