Background and Objectives: Use of hydrocolloids is an effective method in reducing oil absorption during frying. In this study, the effect of adding hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) to breaded shrimp nuggets on reducing oil uptake, coating pick-up, product yield and sensory characteristics was evaluated.

Materials & Methods: Four treatments consisted of control (without HPMC), 1 (with 2% HPMC in predust), 2 (with 2% HPMC in batter) and 3 (with 1% HPMC in predust and 1% HPMC in batter) were used.

Results: The results indicated that adding of 2% HPMC to batter was more effective in reducing oil uptake (from 21 to 19%), and retention of moisture (from 36 to 38%) compared to the control samples. Adding HPMC in all treatments showed no significant differences on the coating pick-up and product yield compared to the control samples. There were no significant differences in sensory evaluation in terms of color, odor, taste, texture, appearance and overall acceptability among the treatments.

Conclusion: Use of 2% HPMC in batter reduced oil absorption during deep frying, and made no negative effect on batter pick-up and product yield all the samples were accepted with all the panelists.