In the hunt to improve the quality, flavor and variety of gluten-free products, food scientists have discovered a new tool to cut the fat.

A study published in the Journal of Food Engineering found the fat content in gluten-free doughnuts can be reduced by using infrared radiation (IR). By partially frying gluten-free doughnuts and then using IR technology, the researchers were able to lower fat content to 23.7-28.2% versus the typical 27.2% in a fully-fried gluten-free doughnut.

While the partially-fried gluten-free doughnuts were found to be comparable to fully-fried gluten-free doughnuts in taste and texture, they didn’t stand up when compared to wheat doughnuts. The researchers called for continuing work to improve gluten-free formulation to achieve a more “sensorially similar” product.

Interestingly, when tested on wheat-containing doughnuts, the IR process did not maintain the same taste as a fully-fried wheat doughnut.