Batter (cooking)

A thin batter for English pancakes

Batter is a semi-liquid mixture of one or more grains used to prepare various foods. Many batters are made by combining dry flours with liquids such as water, milk or eggs; batters can also be made by soaking grains in water and grinding them wet. Often a leavening agent such as baking powder is included to aerate and fluff up the batter as it cooks, or the mixture may be naturally fermented for this purpose as well as to add flavour. Carbonated water or another carbonated liquid such as beer may instead be used to aerate the batter in some recipes.

The viscosity of batter may range from very "heavy" (adhering to an upturned spoon) to "thin" (similar to single cream, enough to pour or drop from a spoon and sometimes called "drop batter"). Heat is applied to the batter, usually by frying, baking or steaming, in order to cook the ingredients and to "set" the batter into a solid form. Batters may be sweet or savoury, often with either sugar or salt being added (sometimes both). Many other flavourings such as herbs, spices, fruits or vegetables may be added to the mixture.

The word batter comes from the old French word battre which means to beat, as many batters require vigorous beating or whisking in their preparation.

Beer batter

Beer is a popular ingredient in batters used to coat foods before frying. One reason is that a basic batter can be made from merely flour, beer, and some salt. The purpose of using beer is so the bubbles in the beer will add body and lightness to the batter. Depending on the type and quality of the beer, beer may also add colour or some flavour to the batter. The practice of beer battering is popular in Australia, New Zealand, America, Europe, and Russia. Some foods that are commonly beer battered and fried are fish, chips, onion rings.

See also

• Dough, the thicker flour paste that is often kneaded
• Breading, a dry, powdered coating put on food before cooking it
• Beer bread
• Wookiee