Low-Fat for your fried food

Low-fat, fried food sounds like a contradiction, but those types of products may soon be popping up at your local grocer.

Fish sticks slathered in oil and deep-fried are tasty, but the after-effects can take a toll on your waistline. The love affair with food usually ends when it's time to weigh in. Now, a new discovery may tip the scales in your favor when it comes to eating some of your favorite fried foods.

Stephen Kelleher, Ph.D., a food chemist at Proteus Industries in Gloucester, Mass., says, "People like fried food, but there's a lot of bad things associated with fried food." Understanding the bittersweet fondness for fried cuisine, Stephen invented a way to cook low-fat, fried food.

The protein solution is extracted from fish muscle. When coated onto the fish it forms a barrier, locking in taste and moisture, but blocking out fat and carbohydrates. "These protein molecules after we treat them and extract them the way we do, they form these very, very, micro-thin films that -- when they are sprayed onto the surface -- become this invisible, impenetrable, film that forms on the surface," Stephan says.

The protein molecules go through a treatment process. Water and other ingredients are filtered then added to the batter. Stephen says the finished product has 25-percent to 75-percent less fat. Plus the added protein cuts down the carbohydrates by 15 percent.

When put to the test, comparing traditional fried batter to the special protein coating, both food tasters agreed there was nothing fishy about the low-fat, fried meal.

The process is FDA approved and can be used to fry low-fat chicken, too. They are also testing the application on other foods, like potato chips.