Breading

Cornmeal breading

Breading (also known as crumbing) is a dry grain-derived food coating for a piece of food such as meat, vegetable, poultry, fish, shellfish, crustacean, seitan, or textured soy, made from breadcrumbs or a breading mixture with seasonings. Breading can also refer to the process of applying a bread-like coating to a food. Breading is well suited for frying because it lends itself to creating a crisp coating around the food. Breading mixtures can be made of breadcrumb, flour, cornmeal, and seasoning that the item to be breaded is dredged in before cooking. If the item to be breaded is too dry for the coating to stick, the item may first be moistened with a liquid such as buttermilk or raw egg.

Breading contrasts with batter, which is a grain-based liquid coating for food that produces a smoother and finer texture, but which can be less crisp overall.

See also

• Panko