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What is Seasoned Flour?

G. Wiesen
G. Wiesen

Seasoned flour is flour that has been combined with a variety of different spices and seasonings such as salt, pepper, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and just about any other sort of savory spice that serves as a delicious accompaniment to a dish. This is usually done when preparing flour for a coating for food that will be fried, such as fried chicken, calamari, fried zucchini, and meat cutlets. This flour can be easily made in home and commercial kitchens, though some types are also available for purchase at markets and specialty stores.

Most seasoned flour is made for use in dredging before frying, but it can also be added to sauces to thicken them while introducing greater flavor. Many recipes for fried dishes, such as calamari, fried chicken, or scaloppini, will include how the flour should be seasoned for the dish. For some recipes, the seasonings can be quite elaborate and may be considered the “secret ingredient” of the dish. Seasoning flour without a recipe is quite easy, however, and can quickly add deeper and more complex flavors to an otherwise simple dish.

A scoop of flour.
A scoop of flour.

Any sort of flour can be used, though white flour is most common, and many people prefer unbleached flour over bleached for a cleaner taste and texture. Wheat flour can also be used, and it may be preferable for frying since it can produce a richer color and deeper flavors than standard white flour. Whatever type is chosen, enough of it should be poured out onto a large plate to fulfill the needs of the dish being made.

Add garlic powder, oregano or parsley to increase flavor of seasoned flour.
Add garlic powder, oregano or parsley to increase flavor of seasoned flour.

Once the flour is on the plate, it is quite simple to then just add whatever sorts of seasonings would pair well with the dish being made. For something like scaloppini, for example, some salt and pepper would both complement the flavor, and seasonings that match what is being used in the sauce would also be a nice addition. This could include some finely chopped oregano, bay leaves, and perhaps even some garlic or onion powder.

The process of seasoning flour begins with adding salt and pepper.
The process of seasoning flour begins with adding salt and pepper.

Fried chicken and calamari can benefit from some even stronger flour seasoning. Paprika is a quite common addition, and usually accompanies salt and pepper, with white pepper being commonly used with white flour for a more uniform visual appeal. Once the seasonings are added, the flour can then be easily mixed using either fingers or a fork. Commercially produced and sold seasoned flour is available from a number of different makers and retailers, and it will typically indicate the types of seasonings used in the flour.

Discussion Comments

SteamLouis

@burcinc, @turquoise-- It's great that you guys make your own seasoned flour. I know it's easy to do but I'm too lazy to do it myself. I always buy packaged seasoned flour from the store. I like these a lot because I'm not too familiar with seasonings, herbs and spices. I wouldn't know what to mix with what even if I wanted.

But these ready made seasoned flours are labeled "for chicken," "for beef" and so forth, so they make it so easy to use the right one.

I also love crispy seasoned flour. This one has little breadcrumbs added to the flour so that the food comes out extra crispy. It's great for home made fried chicken.

turquoise

@burcinc-- Lemon goes great with fried fish recipes. I think some lemon zest, maybe some paprika and even a pinch or two of turmeric would go great. The turmeric will turn the flour and the fish into a soft yellow color but if you use little, there is no taste. And lemon zest will be as if you squeezed lemon juice on the fish.

I've never used seasoned flour for soups but I don't see why not. I use those chicken or beef bullion seasonings a lot to season my soups. You could probably mix them with flour to make a seasoned flour. It would be like combining two steps into one.

And do you know that you can add seasoned flour to oven baked chicken too? I do this when I'm using an oven bag to bake chicken. I put the seasoned flour inside the bag, I put the chicken in the bag and shake to get it all over. It turns out really delicious.

burcinc

I like to add either paprika or oregano to my seasoned flour for chicken. Oregano is a great seasoning when you want to add some herbs and spices to the food without overwhelming it. Paprika is what I prefer if I want chicken that's a little spicy.

I've never made fish with seasoned flour but it sounds like a good idea. I actually bought some fish yesterday for frying. What kind of seasoned flour would be good for fried fish?

And does anyone use seasoned flour for soups? There are a couple of soups I make which require some flour as a thickener. I wonder how it would turn out if I used seasoned flour instead of plain flour.

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    • A scoop of flour.
      By: Jultud
      A scoop of flour.
    • Add garlic powder, oregano or parsley to increase flavor of seasoned flour.
      By: Kuzmick
      Add garlic powder, oregano or parsley to increase flavor of seasoned flour.
    • The process of seasoning flour begins with adding salt and pepper.
      By: al62
      The process of seasoning flour begins with adding salt and pepper.
    • Paprika is commonly added to seasoned flour.
      By: Ekaterina Lin
      Paprika is commonly added to seasoned flour.
    • Parsley is often added to seasoned flour.
      By: Barbara Pheby
      Parsley is often added to seasoned flour.
    • Seasoned flour may be used to prepare fried zucchini.
      By: ilposeidone
      Seasoned flour may be used to prepare fried zucchini.
    • Wheat flour may be seasoned to make seasoned flour.
      By: m.u.ozmen
      Wheat flour may be seasoned to make seasoned flour.