Banana chips
Practical Action
Dry the sliced bananas for a short time (5-6 hours in a cabinet dryer or up to 2 days in a solar
dryer) until they have a soft rubbery texture. The length of time taken for drying depends on the
thickness of the banana slices, the temperature of the dryer and the drying conditions.
Heat good clean vegetable oil to 180-200°C. Use a thermometer to check the temperature of the
oil because if it is too hot, the chips will burn and the oil will deteriorate more rapidly (see the box
on quality of oil and frying). If the oil is not hot enough, the chips will soak up too much oil
before they fry. A thermostatically controlled deep fat fryer is useful if you have one available.
The oil should not be used for frying more than three to four times as it deteriorates each time it
is heated and this will spoil the flavour of the chips.
Add a few banana chips to the oil (enough so that one layer of chips fit into the pan). If you add
too many chips at one time the temperature of the oil will drop and the chips will take longer to
cook. Fry the banana chips. Remove them from the oil with a straining spoon when they rise to
the surface of the oil and are a golden brown colour. The chips will cook very quickly, so take care
that they do not burn. The more chips in the oil at any one time, the longer they will take to cook.
It is useful to have a mesh basket for frying the chips as this enables you to remove them from
the oil more quickly when they are ready. The chips are placed into the mesh basket, this is
lowered into the hot oil, shaken a little to move the chips around in the oil and then lifted out as
soon as the chips are golden brown. For larger operations, it is useful to have more than one
basket so that one can be removed from the fryer, the oil allowed to return to the desired
temperature and then a second basket is lowered in.
Fried banana chips - process flow-chart
Green, under-ripe bananas
Peeling (as quickly as possible to avoid browning)
Soaking in citric acid or ascorbic acid solution
Slicing into 5-8mm thick slices, ensure uniform size pieces
Soaking in ascorbic acid, honey dip or citric acid solution for 3-5
minutes
Drain
Drying for 5-6 hours at 60°C (optional) until rubbery texture
Frying (180-200°C) until golden brown
Drain out oil
Cooling
Spicing
Packaging
Storage – in a cool place away from direct sunlight. Up to 2 months
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