It's hard to stop after eating single potato chips– and that’s their whole problem. Popular fried salty snack loaded with unhealthy fats, oils, and other unwanted ingredients that have been linked to numerous health problems. Unfortunately, these are also the taste characteristics that humans evolutionarily crave.
After decades of work and experimentation, there is still no alternative that provides such an ideal (yet nutritious) flavor profile. Even if you replace baking with frying, high cooking temperatures often still reduce the overall nutritional value of the food. However, according to Cornell University food scientist Chang Chen, combining beets with microwave vacuum drying (MVD) may be the solution snack lovers have been waiting for.
“We wanted to produce a healthy snack made from whole vegetables, with all-natural ingredients and high fiber content,” he explained in the post. university profile. “We said, 'What if we can engineer the process and get the same texture without adding oil?'”
Chen and his colleagues detailed their approach in a study published in the journal. Innovative food science and new technologies. MIA removes moisture from root vegetables in a similar way to frying or baking, but faster and at a lower temperature. This combination of cooking factors leaves behind nutrients in the food that would typically spoil during long drying cycles. At the same time, MVD preserves the starch needed for the chips' signature texture.
Although potatoes are best for these snacks, beets are much more nutritious. In addition to being an excellent source of fiber, they high in vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, manganese, potassium and iron. If you could replace potatoes with beets and still get the same flavor profile, you wouldn't just replace traditional chips—you could improve them. And that's exactly what they think they've achieved.
“We've achieved nice puffiness that you typically only see in deep-frying, and it's even crispier than fried chips,” Chen said.
Chen's collaborator, food scientist Diane Makovich, explained that the chips people love are made of starch because it gelatinizes when exposed to heat.
“You want a thin layer of gelatinized starch,” she said. “Puffs form when you use high heat and the internal water evaporates and forms a puff.”
Chen, Makovich and their team believe MVD will benefit not only beets, but also other tubers such as butternut squash and traditional potatoes.
“That's what we're going to do in the future. And we've hired a new student to work with the apples,” Chen said. “It’s all about balancing the properties of the food.”
