Batter III

A plain leavened coating batter, thicker than a tempura and closer to a drop-batter pancake. It is the kind of all-purpose recipe that appears numbered in a series because the book expects you to choose a batter to suit whatever is being fried.

• Yield and coverageRoughly a cup and a half of batter, enough to coat something on the order of a pound of prepared food -- apple rings, croquette-sized spoonfuls, cooked cauliflower, oysters or fish pieces. Doubling is straightforward.
• Consistency is the hingeThe batter should coat the back of a spoon and fall from it in a thick ribbon. If it slides off in a sheet it is too thin; add flour a tablespoon at a time. If it sits in a lump, thin with milk a teaspoon at a time.
• Mix brieflyStir only until the flour disappears. A batter beaten smooth develops gluten and fries tough and bready rather than crisp.
• Use it promptlyThe baking powder begins working on contact with the milk, so the batter is at its lightest soon after mixing and will lose lift if held.
• Frying fatThe recipe itself stops at mixing and gives no cooking instruction. If deep frying, the usual modern range is 365-375F: colder fat lets the batter soak; hotter fat colours the outside before the leavening has lifted it. Fry in small batches so the temperature does not crash.
• Dry the food firstPat whatever you are coating thoroughly dry, and dust wet items such as fruit or blanched vegetables with flour before dipping. Batter will not cling to a damp surface.
• Baking powder then and nowBaking powders of the period varied in strength and many were single-acting. Modern double-acting powder at the stated two teaspoons should be at least as assertive; use a level measure, not heaped.
• FlourAll-purpose flour is the right substitution.