Banana chip

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 and Nendran cultivars. It can be sweet or savory and can be covered with sugar, honey, salt, or various spices.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Pillay" />

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.<ref name="Robinson">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Molina">Template:Cite book</ref>

Fried

Fried banana chips are usually produced from under-ripe banana slices deep-fried 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, banana flavoring 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% carbohydrates, 34% fat, and 2% protein. In a 100-gram reference amount, dried banana chips supply 520 calories 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 micronutrients 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.<ref name="Molina" /><ref name="Robinson" /><ref name="Pillay">Template:Cite book</ref> 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 or cardava bananas, 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 Template:Convert in coconut oil for 1 minute. The resulting chips are distinctively light-colored.<ref name="Pillay" /><ref name="Po">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="delacruz">Template:Cite book</ref>

India

Fried plantain chips, known as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in Kerala, are fried in coconut oil.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Both ripe and unripe plantains are used for this type of chip preparation. The chips may be coated with masala or jaggery to form spicy and sweet variations. Plain banana and plantain chips are called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, respectively; sweet jaggery-banana chips are called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is more expensive than {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. It is an integral part of the traditional Kerala meal called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} served during weddings and festivals, such as Onam.

Indonesia

File:Keripik pisang Lampung.JPG

Indonesian kripik pisang (banana chips)

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Lampung, banana chips is combined with chocolate powder called kripik pisang coklat.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Usually, unripe green bananas are thinly sliced, soaked in a lime and salt water solution, and deep-fried as chips.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Unripe banana is well suited for deep frying due to its low content of water and sugar while having high starch content. Pisang goreng is another fried banana snack, although it is not thinly sliced and serves as a sweet hot snack.

Americas

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The chips are often part of muesli and nut mixes. Other chips, such as patacones, are salty. 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

• Banana Chips preparation.jpg

  Banana chips being prepared by deep frying

• Chips Palakkad.jpg

  Fried banana chips

• Homemade 4 Cut Banana Chips.jpg

  Homemade banana chips

• Jaggery Chips BNC.jpg

  Jaggery chips

• 2020-06-10 16 38 39 Banana chips from Giant in the Franklin Farm section of Oak Hill, Fairfax County, Virginia.jpg

  Dried banana chips

• 723Pinasugbo consilva 07.jpg

  Pinasugbo, a traditional banana chip snack from the Western Visayas islands of the Philippines

• Banana Chips in Palakkad.jpg

  Banana chips getting deep fried at a shop in Palakkad, Kerala, India.

• Banana Chips from India.jpg

  Ripe banana chips from India.

• Ripe Banana Chips.jpg

  Banana Chips made of ripe bananas from Kerala, India.

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