This is the first test conducted to identify the best flours to use for a fish batter. All batters were initially made with equal volumes of water and flour which in most cases makes a quite thick batter causing it to adhere well and create a good seal and nice batter.
Where needed we added a little extra flour or water to achieve a similar texture except the cornflour which is naturally thinner and hard work when too thick (even so it was 2-1 flour to water).
Each batter had a little pinch of salt added. There were four tasters of varying degrees of knowledge on food and tasting but all above average. Only salt was added to the final dish to taste so as not to adversely affect the texture.
No other flavourings were added as this test was to identify the best flour(s)
| Flour Used | Composition | Flour Image | Fish Image | Taste Notes | Ranking |
British Plain Flour
McDougalls
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Wrinkly in a very unnattractive way. Gives easily to a finger push. Very pale colour. Chewy but with little crispiness.
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4th
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British Self Raising Flour
McDougalls
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Smoothish batter nice appearance. Pleasing golden colour. Gives to the push, crispy with underlying chewyness. Lighter taste than the plain flour. I'm quite surprised to get so much of a contrast between this and the plain flour as I did not expect so much difference imparted from the baking powder in the self raising flour when frying a batter but it clearly makes a lot of difference.
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1st
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Bakers Grade "Very Strong" Flour
Allinsons
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Another pale colour, craggy finish in an unattractive way. "Tastier" than the plain flour, chewy in a nice way but not very crispy.
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5th
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Buckwheat Flour (Gluten Free)
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Hmm, not anybody's favourite this one. Leathery. Horrible grey brown colour. Disgusting taste!
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Last
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Gluten Free White Bread Flour
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Thinner batter. Crispy finish. Light pale colour. Light taste, smooth appearance. Generally liked be better if more golden.
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2nd=
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"00" Plain Flour
McDougalls Supreme Sauce and Pastry
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Pale. Chewy in a hard to eat way, soft to the push. Nothing to distinguish it at all for batter.
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7th
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Supreme Sponge Self Raising Flour
McDougalls
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Golden. Smooth with crags surface which is quite pleasant. Gives to the push. Crispy exterior gives way to pleasant chewy middle. Generally liked.
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2nd=
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Corn Flour
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No give without breaking. Thin batter. Very crispy "like a biscuit". Ok but for a whole fish would be hard work.
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7th
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Well we have some clear contenders for the next stage of tests where we will narrow the flours down. Planned next are: