A banana chip (sometimes called banana crisp) is a deep-fried or dried, generally crispy slice of banana. It is usually made from firmer, starchier banana varieties ("cooking bananas" or plantains) like the saba banana and Changalikodan . It can be sweet or savory and can be covered with sugar, honey, salt, or various spices.
Banana chips are the only processed banana product with significant international trade. The main exporter of banana chips worldwide is the Philippines. Export markets for banana chips are also established in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Fried
Fried banana chips are usually produced from under-ripe banana slices
deep frying in
sunflower oil or
coconut oil. These chips are dry (like potato chips), contain about 4% water (table), and can be salted, spiced, sugar-coated, or jaggery-coated. Sometimes,
Isoamyl acetate is added. If ripe dessert bananas are used, they come out soggy. They are used for desserts, not for dry chips.
Dried
Some varieties of banana chips can be produced using only
food dehydration. Banana slices that are only dehydrated are not dark yellow and crunchy but rather are brown, leathery, and chewy. They are very sweet and have an intense banana flavor. These are ideally made from fully ripe bananas. Another kind is made by baking it in an oven, although this process may not result in the same intense banana flavor.
Nutrition
Dried banana chips are 4% water, 58%
, 34%
fat, and 2%
protein. In a 100-gram reference amount, dried banana chips supply 520
and are a rich source (20% or more of the
Daily Value, DV) of
magnesium (21% DV) and vitamin B6 (20% DV), with moderate amounts of
iron,
copper, and
potassium (10% to 11% DV) (table). Other
are in negligible amounts of the Daily Value (see nutrition table).
Uses and variations
Philippines
The
Philippines is, by far, the main exporter of banana chips worldwide. It exports large quantities to more than 30 countries, including the
United States,
Canada, the
European Union,
Japan,
Australia,
South Korea,
China, and
Russia. The annual revenue for banana chip exports in the Philippines was approximately $35 million in 2009.
There are many variants of banana chips in the Philippines, from traditional dishes like
pinasugbo to modern versions coated in
cheese powder. Banana chips in the Philippines are made predominantly from
saba banana or
, with the latter preferred for commercial banana chips due to their larger sizes. For domestic production and home cooking, they are made directly by deep-frying fresh sliced bananas. For commercial banana chips for the export market, the main method of production is through osmotic dehydration followed by
deep frying at in
coconut oil for 1 minute. The resulting chips are distinctively light-colored.
India
Fried plantain chips, known as
nenthra-kaaya oopperi or
vazhaykka upperi or
upperi in
Kerala, are fried in
coconut oil.
Both ripe and unripe plantains are used for this type of chip preparation. The chips may be coated with
spice mix or
jaggery to form spicy and sweet variations. Plain banana and plantain chips are called
pachkkaya varuthathu and
kaya upperi, respectively; sweet jaggery-banana chips are called
sharkara upperi or
sharkkara varatty. Sharkara varatty is more expensive than upperi. It is an integral part of the traditional Kerala meal called
sadya served during weddings and festivals, such as
Onam.
Indonesia
Bananas are native plants of Maritime Southeast Asia, and the people of the archipelago have developed many uses for them for ages, including as a snack. In Indonesia, a banana chip is called
kripik pisang, and is considered a variant of crispy
kripik (traditional chip or crisp).
Kripik pisang is a popular crispy snack and can be commonly found in Indonesia, although it seems to be more prevalent in Java and Sumatra. In
North Maluku, popular with
pisang mulu bebek is a duck-mouth-shaped banana chip. It is served with
sambal, fried
peanut, and fried
anchovy.
In
Lampung, banana chips is combined with
chocolate powder called
kripik pisang coklat.
Usually, unripe green bananas are thinly sliced, soaked in a lime and salt water solution, and deep-fried as chips.
Americas
The chips are often part of
muesli and nut mixes. Other chips, such as
patacones, are
.
Similar chips called
chifle are made from plantains, the family of fruit that bananas come from. In tropical American cultures, all bananas are considered plantains, but not all plantains are bananas. These deep-fried plantain chips are also quite popular in the southeastern part of Mexico, especially in the state of
Tabasco.
==Gallery==
See also
-
Apple chip
-
Banana - In popular culture and commerce, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet "dessert" Musa cultivars.
-
Banana powder
-
Chifle - a similar salty snack chip made from plantains.
-
Plantain - Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit
-
Sun-dried banana
-
Tostones - a similar salty snack made from plantains.
-
Kripik - Indonesian chips, kripik pisang is Indonesian banana chips
-
List of deep fried foods
-
List of dried foods
