Banana Chips are blaaahhhh!

[Beanie]

Ok...all you dehydrator gurus out there. HELP!
I've tried and tried to get a banana chip that tastes even slightly sweet and can't do it. They just taste like crispy cardboard. What am I doing wrong?




Also - tried sweet potato chips and they too suffer from the blahness. Crispy but blah. Should I blache? Do raw? Suggestions?

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

Hi. I never blanche before dehydrating, except white potatoes. When I do banana chips, I use very ripe bananas (starting to brown but not mushy yet) because they are the sweetest. Peel and freeze for about 30 minutes to firm up. Slice to 1/4 inch thickness. Place on dehydrator sheet, almost touching ... remember that they shrink. Dry until crispy. Let cool down. Taste test. Sometimes I freeze, then re-dehydrate for another hour just to make sure no buggies got in there. Cool. Seal in airtight dark container.

Does that help? Haven't done sweet potatoes yet. Perhaps dip the slices in brown sugar?

For apple slices, I slice and place slices in lemon water (to prevent browning). Take out, pat slightly dry and sprinkle with cinnamon. Dehydrate. Delicious!

 

[Beanie]

maybe that's where I goofed....I got less ripe bananas. I'll try the riper ones and the prefreezer method! thanks!!

 

[valmom]

Also, if you want them to taste like the ones you buy- I think most of them are dehydrated with honey or sugar. I tried bananas, too, and they were bland. I may try another batch with honey.

 

[Beanie]

Also, if you want them to taste like the ones you buy- I think most of them are dehydrated with honey or sugar. I tried bananas, too, and they were bland. I may try another batch with honey.

OK - so it's not just me. Maybe I'll try sweetening them.

 

[Emerald]

My dried bananas never turn out nice like the store ones and I have often wondered if theirs are freeze dried as the texture is so much different than mine.
I did like the ones that I dipped in honey/water/lemon juice before I dried them.. the flavor was good. All the rest got tossed into muffin recipes and they were nice in there.

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

Most of the banana chips I find on the market are dried with sulphur. Except the Just Tomatoes brand ... they don't use sulphur for any of their dehydrated products.

Makes a difference in texture and taste but I don't like it in my bod.

 

[SSDreamin]

I used a corn syrup/lemon juice/water mix with my bananas, and really liked the way they turned out.

 

[Marianne]

This is crazy. The two times I dried bananas they were soooo strong banana-y tasting I couldn't stand to eat them. I just sliced ripe bananas, dipped in lemon juice and dried. Super concentrated. I would have settled for more cardboard.

 

[FarmerChick]

I never did it myself cause I am not into dehydrating at home....but I buy whole dehydrated bananas at an organic health food store.

my gosh they are so super bananay lol and sweet you can only eat about half. Plus they don't dry them to cardboard...they dry them just chewy. And use super older bananas for that concentrated sweet.

I love these things I buy.