Contents
Fruit chips are a healthy and nutritious replacement for traditional potato chips. The modern gastronomic market has both the simplest and most affordable options for chips like banana or apple chips, as well as exotic ones – from papaya or pitahaya. If you do not trust the composition of the product and unscrupulous manufacturers, prepare the snack yourself. All you need is parchment paper, an oven and some free time.
What you need to know about fruit chips, how to cook them and does cooking affect the health benefits of fruit?
General characteristics
Fruit chips are a modern version of drying for compote, which was used by our grandmothers. Dried fruits were dipped into a pot with water, sugar, spices and soft drinks were brewed. The gastronomic industry has gone further – now not apples or pears are used for drying, but citrus, kiwi and other tropical fruits [1]. They also decided to abandon the cooking process, and the finished drying is eaten dry, calling it fruit chips.
The modern market is full of fruit chips from different manufacturers. Someone adds sugar to their product, someone adds harmful chemicals like flavor enhancers and preservatives. [2]. Someone skimps on high-quality packaging, which also affects sales, while someone simply sells tasteless snacks.
Not every manufacturer can please the client, so the best option is to make fruit chips in your own kitchen. [3], [4]. You will be able to control every stage of production, make the appetizer as tasty and organic as possible. All you need is fruit, a properly working oven, and a sharp knife.
How to prepare a snack
Cut the fruit into circles or choose any other preferred shape. It is best to use miniature oval / round fruits, as they can be quickly chopped and immediately sent to the oven without additional manipulations. Chips can be cooked with the skin on. The main thing is to thoroughly rinse the fruits and monitor their quality. Don’t forget to remove the pits or seeds from the pulp.
Advice. If you lack the natural sweetness of fruits, dust them with coconut sugar, powdered sugar, or drizzle with a mixture of honey and your favorite spices. Find special combinations of your favorite flavors, mix them up and spread over fruit slices.
Prepared slices must be dried to brittleness. For this, standard household appliances such as an electric or gas oven are suitable. To get a thin crispy structure, consider the following rules:
- slightly open the oven;
- cook at 60°C;
- Be sure to use parchment.
If you have an electric dryer for fruits and vegetables, use it. Technology will make things easier for you. All that is required of you is to evenly lay out the slices, set the desired mode and wait. There is no need to turn fruit slices, the machine will take care of even heating.
The cooking process takes at least 7 hours (excluding fruit preparation). Stock up on the right ingredients, technique, and patience to get the perfect fruit chips. They can be eaten on their own, brewed into teas and cold drinks, used as decorations, or added a sweet new twist to your favorite dishes.
What to cook snack
The most important guideline is your taste preferences. The banana is the leader in the fruit chips market [5].
Banana is a versatile product that can be subjected to any heat treatment without worrying about taste and structure. The composition of the banana includes a whole set of beneficial vitamins that make your skin glow and hair grow with a vengeance. Banana normalizes the gastrointestinal tract, saturates quickly and for a long time, helps fight depression [6]. Moreover, the product is available both on a hot August morning and on a frosty February evening at an affordable price.
Peel the fruit from the peel, cut the banana into half rings and send it to the oven. If you want to diversify the taste, use spices, chocolate drops or other fruits.
An equally popular category of products for chips is citrus fruits. Especially often a combination of lemon-orange-lime with granulated sugar or honey is prepared. Citrus fruits are simply cut into thin rings and sent to the oven without peeling. The finished snack combines pronounced citrus aromas and several flavor palettes, from sweet to sour.
Citrus fruits abound in ascorbic acid (vitamin C), which not only strengthens internal health, but also affects external beauty. Vitamin C increases the skin’s resistance to UV radiation, protects against free radicals, and makes the face clear, smooth and radiant.
A pear is perfect for drying. Due to the natural sweetness of the pear, there is no need for additional sugar, and the nutrients will provide you with a burst of energy and satiety as from a full snack.
Crispy chips are made from apricots. Orange fruit is a storehouse of retinol (vitamin A), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), phosphorus (P), iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mg) [7]. Apricot fruit chips combine a bright taste with a barely noticeable sourness, and tremendous benefits for the body. [8], [9]. A snack can be given to a child for school, added to morning cereals / smoothie bowls, or simply eaten between main meals [10].
Tip: make a small trial batch of apples/bananas and other available fruits to understand the specifics of the preparation and evaluate the taste.
Culinary life hacks
To give the snack a crispy structure, cut the fruit slices as thinly as possible. For this, culinary equipment like a grater, vegetable peeler or a special machine for cutting slices is perfect.
Lay the slices on baking paper, not on a baking sheet, otherwise the fruit will stick to it and turn stone.
Do not forget to stir the snack periodically to achieve an even distribution of temperature.
Make a trial batch of chips in the toaster. The slices should be thin, but long, so that you can easily get them out of the toaster.
Store the finished snack in an airtight plastic bag. Place it in a cool dry place without moisture and ultraviolet access, so they will remain fresh and crispy for 7-10 days.
Does heat treatment affect the benefits of fruits
Consider how heat treatment affects the vitamins contained in fruits [11].
| Vitamin | Features of thermal exposure |
|---|---|
| Retinol (A) | Neutralizes biological activity by 30%. Particularly sensitive to heat and drying in the sun. |
| Thiamine (V1) | Sensitive to cooking (loses 42%) and stewing (loses 30%). Loses bioactivity at 120°C. |
| Riboflavin (V2) | Sensitive to cooking (loses 40%). |
| Pyridoxine (V6) | Resistant to heat treatment, increases biological activity at high temperatures. |
| Folic acid (B9) | Poorly tolerates heat treatment, loses up to 90% of biological activity. |
| Ascorbic acid (C) | When cooking, it loses 90% of nutrients, when stewing – 50%, with each subsequent heating – 30%. |
| Calciferol (D) | Withstands up to 100°C. |
| Tocopherol (E) | Resistant to heat treatment, destroyed by direct exposure to ultraviolet rays. |
| Nicotinic acid (PP) | With any heat treatment, it loses from 5 to 40% of its properties. |
No method of cooking can guarantee the complete preservation of nutrients. Even during serving, the dish comes into contact with air and ultraviolet light, which reduces its bioavailability. Storage in the refrigerator can also reduce this figure. Do not chase the integrity of the composition, but monitor the quality and taste of the products.
The only way to benefit from food is to eat it in different varieties. Don’t focus only on fruit chips or raw fresh berries. Combine the menu so that you feel both satiety and gastronomic pleasure.
If your diet is balanced and varied, then you don’t have to worry about the method of preparation. Your body receives the necessary set of nutrients, so a serving of dried oranges will not reduce immunity, memory or vision. Take food easy and be healthy!
- Sources of
- ↑ The website of Martha Steward. – 15 homemade fruit and vegetable chip recipes.
- ↑ Electronic fund of legal and regulatory and technical documentation. – Interstate standard (GOST): dried fruits.
- ↑ ResearchGate (social network for scientists). – Analysis of innovative technologies for the production of fruit chips.
- ↑ SpringerLink website. – Development of apple chips technology.
- ↑ Health website Healthline. – Are banana chips healthy?
- ↑ Taylor & Francis open journal. – Dried fruit and public health – what does the evidence tell us?
- ↑ Scientific electronic library “CyberLeninka”. – Chemical composition and antioxidant properties of fruit chips.
- ↑ U.S. National library of medicine. – Nuts and dried fruits: an update of their beneficial effects on type 2 diabetes.
- ↑ U.S. Department of agriculture. – Fruit mixture, dried.
- ↑ American Heart Association. – Healthy snacking.
- ↑ WebMD Internet resource. – Dehydrating food: is it good for you?