Crispy Corn Fritters Recipe - Little Sunny Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Why are my fritters not crispy? ›

The most common causes for soggy fritters are too much batter (basic flour and egg batter like used in pancakes will never cook up crispy), and whatever you're frittering leeches too much water when cooking.

Is baking soda or powder best for frying? A pinch of baking soda can help produce crispy fried foods. It reacts with the acid in the batter to create carbon dioxide bubbles. These lead to an airy batter and a crisper, fluffier result.

If your oil temperature drops, the fritters will soak up excess oil while cooking, leaving them soggy. Why are my corn fritters falling apart? If using frozen or canned corn, make sure to drain well to eliminate excess moisture. Always spoon and level dry ingredients to make sure your measurements are consistent.

The eggs you use need to be small and cold. Larger eggs have more water from the egg white, resulting in wetter batter and sad, soggy fritters. The reason you want a cold egg is because cold liquid helps to slow the development of gluten when liquid and flour are added together, which makes for a better texture!

The perfect temperature for frying foods is 375°F (190°C). This temperature provides the ideal combination of heat and oil saturation to achieve a crispy, golden-brown texture. However, some recipes may require higher or lower temperatures depending on the type of food being fried.

Baking soda doesn't, but baking powder does. Don't use it in huge quantities, but like, a teaspoon of baking powder to a cup of flour when making a batter will elicit extra crispiness.

Keep the food warm in the oven.

If you're not serving fried food immediately, you'll need to keep it warm to prevent it from getting cold and losing crispiness. One way to do this is to place the fried food on a wire rack in the oven at a low temperature, around 200°F to 250°F.

But the baking powder is key, because it acts like a salt. It helps draw moisture to the surface, where it can evaporate. Since they have similar reactions, we typically combine baking powder and table salt to amplify this effect, resulting in extra-crispiness.

If your corn on the cob is “soft and mushy” you are overcooking it. Fresh sweet corn that is recently picked (no other kind will do) should be boiled for 2 minutes, 3 minutes top. It will crunch nicely. However, popcorn kernels are dried kernels of a different corn variety, Zae mays everta corn.

What is the purpose of the egg in fritters? ›

Alternatively, don't use them at all. The eggs are there with the flour to bind the fritters together, and to make the fritters rise a little, but they're not absolutely necessary where cheese will melt and act as binding.

Batter consistency is key to good fritters. If too runny, add a touch of extra flour (otherwise fritters soggy inside). If way too thick, add a touch of water. It does come down to how juicy / how well the water was removed from the zucchinis.

Just watch them and make sure they don't get too brown, but cook them long enough to make sure the batter is cooked through, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes total. Repeat with the remaining batter. Remove the fritters and drain on a paper towel.

When frying, work in batches and avoid sticking the fritters too close together in the pan. If they are too close, they'll create steam which will make them too soft. Use hot oil! Don't add the fritters to the pan until the oil is nice and hot.

If your potato fritters are soggy, it's likely because too much liquid remained in your vegetables or the oil and skillet weren't hot enough. A hot skillet with hot oil is how you keep potato pancakes crispy.

That you want crispy outsides goes without saying – there's nothing sadder than a towering stack of soggy fritters. But we also need to get the inside right. We want moist insides but not soggy and certainly not dry.