Creating coatings involves a delicate balance of ingredients on various substrates. Eggs, starches, gums, flours, and leavenings help with adhesion on substrates such as chicken, fish, vegetables, or cheese.
Batters are composed of flour and other components such as starches, milk, eggs, seasonings, leavenings, and stabilizers.
Batters can be specified according to degree of adhesion (high or regular). Adhesion batters are used as an undercoat before applying the breading—they generally are high in adhesion starch. These undercoatings serve as a cohesive layer between the substrate and the breading, acting as the glue that holds the breading to the substrate. Adhesion batters prevent surface voids through the loss of breadings. They also reduce crumb fall-off, which extends the life of fryer oil. The viscosity or thickness of these batters can be adjusted to give the desired pickup.