"Yes, the taste of fresh apples and glazed, fried dough is part of the appeal; but the combo of crispy and chewy textures is the secret to a fritter's success. While the soft, apple-laden interior is relatively simple to achieve, a crunchy exterior is harder to pull off, especially when you're coating your fritters in a wet glaze. So you should use every trick in the book to help crisp them up."
"The other way cornstarch helps add crunch to fritters has to do with how it reacts with water. Starch of any kind will absorb moisture, causing it to gelatinize. When that soaked starch hits hot oil, the starch molecules will expand, separating them from one another. The heat then reduces the moisture that has concentrated in the starch, which means less moisture on the exterior, resulting in more crunch."
Crisp exterior and soft, apple-filled interior define a satisfying apple fritter. Replacing a fraction of flour with cornstarch—about a quarter cup for a standard batch—enhances crispiness without other recipe changes. Cornstarch contains no gluten, so it reduces gluten network formation and prevents excessive chewiness, making fried edges more brittle and crunchy. Cornstarch also absorbs moisture and gelatinizes; when the hydrated starch contacts hot oil, molecules expand and then lose moisture under heat, leaving less surface moisture and a firmer, crunchier exterior. A small cornstarch substitution produces a noticeable texture improvement in homemade fritters.
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