FoodNet

Experimental cookery

1932

Page 443

Presented as published in 1932. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
The cooperators in lard investigations at Iowa State College Experi- ment Station determined the amount of fat absorbed by doughnuts and the changes in the fats caused by cooking doughnuts in each fat, the period of heating each fat being kept constant at 10j4 hours. These studies were continued over a period of 3 years, the same operator, Jensen, making and frying all the doughnuts, so that a highly specialized technic was developed. Standardized conditions of mixing, which included incubation of all mate- rials at a definite temperature before mixing and mixing with a Kitchen- Aid, were maintained. Six mixes or batches of dough were required for the doughnuts fried in each fat. The term ''firsts" was applied to dough- nuts cut after the first rolling of the dough. The scraps were then collected and rerolled. The doughnuts from this lot were designated as ''rerolls." Again the scraps were collected and rerolled, the doughnuts from this lot designated as ''re-rerolls." The following results are from tests during the third year only. A total of 12 fats were used, of which 2 were open-kettle rendered lards, 5 were prime-steam rendered lards, 1 hydrogenated lard, 1 hydro- genated cottonseed oil, and 1 corn oil. TEMPERATURE OF INGREDIENTS WHEN MIXED 557 Number of "firsts" cooked in each fat 12 dozen Number of "rerolls" cooked in each fat 6 dozen Number of "re-rerolls" cooked in each fat 2>^ dozen Average fat absorption from all fats for "firsts" 28.6 per cent Average fat absorption from all fats for "rerolls" 22.3 per cent Average fat absorption from all fats for "re-reroUs" 18.5 per cent The analysis of variance indicated exceedingly high uniformity among rollings, i.e., "firsts" always absorbed the most fat, etc., but great variation among different mixes or batches so that the variation from mix to mix was used as the experimental error. The variation of amount of fat absorbed by the different fats was also highly significant. Further analysis of the data showed a significant negative correlation between the smoking point of the fat and the amount of fat absorbed by the doughnuts, which indicated that the lower the smoking point the greater the amount of fat absorbed by the doughnuts. The iodine value, the percentage of free fatty acids, and the refractive index had no effect on the amount of fat absorbed. However, a highly significant negative correlation was found between the free fatty acids content and the smoking point of the fat which agrees with former findings of Blunt and Feeney and Morgan and Cozens. Denton and co-workers have also published results for fat absorption in doughnuts and other foods. Their conclusions are similar to those of the investigators mentioned above and to the following class results, so will not be given in detail. Factors Affecting the Amount of Fat Absorbed During Cooking and the Texture of the Doughnuts