This study reveals the basic properties of various grain flours (wheat, non-glutinous rice, glutinous rice, barley, buckwheat and job's tears) and the preparation method for tempura batter. In this analysis, we focused on the particle size and gelatinization characteristics of each grain flour, and the viscosity and color of the batters.
The color difference between millet flour and wheat flour was more noticeable in the batters, and millet flour was darker. Buckwheat flour was particularly dark and was gray-brown in color. As for gelatinization characteristics, all grain flours excluding barley flour were harder to gelatinize than wheat flour. Millet flour required a larger amount of water in order for the batter to have the same viscosity as wheat flour. The viscosity of glutinous rice, barley and job's tears flour varied depending on the particle size. When preparing tempura batters, different amounts of water needed to be added and, after stirring, left to sit for 30 minutes, with the exception of wheat and barley flour. We surmise that the frying conditions are affected by the gelatinization characteristics of the grains and the amount of water used in the batter.
