If the only equipment I had were an oven, stove, and microwave, how should I go around making dried banana chips? Will microwaving the bananas for an extended period of time cause the water to fully evaporate? Or should I stick to baking them in the oven? If so, for how long and at what temperature?
Thanks!
Slice the bananas thinly (about 1/4" thick or less) and as uniformly as you can. Put them on a wire rack and the rack on a baking sheet. Put that in the oven on the lowest heat setting available and prop the door open an inch with a wooden spoon.
Check on them in about 4 hours - may take up to 12. They are done when they no longer feel sticky to the touch. If you don’t have a wire rack and place them directly on the baking sheet, make sure to turn them every couple of hours.
They will not have the same texture as store bought chips --more chewy – but they’re good. they may also get a little brown from oxidation. I’ve tried dipping them in an anti-browning solution (Vitamin C dissolved in water) but it doesn’t make much difference in the final result - and it’s only aesthetic anyway.
I’m guessing the OP is interested in the process but I’m curious, would it be cheaper to buy store bought chips if you have to run the oven for 12 hours while making your own?
Store brought chips would be cheaper but there is nothing like the joy of cooking something yourself and then eating it :). Anyway, the lowest heat setting on my oven is 350 F. Am I better off just getting a dedicated food dehydrator? These things go much lower in temperature (125 - 150 F).
Are you sure about that? Most ovens that are digital default to 350 when you turn them on but you can turn them down to 225. On a dial control, its the setting marked “warm”.
I’ve never heard of an oven that can’t go below 350. Where do you live?
And, PlainJane it is a pretty inefficient process - though with a gas oven it’s quite cheap even so. I have a dehydrator and even then I usually only dehydrate fruits I know will be going bad before I have a chance to use them up, and a few things I can’t get easily in stores.
Commercial chips are deep-fried, not dehydrated.
the electric circular dehydrators work though not the best air flow. larger more expensive electric box dehydrators do work better.
if you had sun and some table space you could also try outdoor sun drying. you can buy window screen by the foot to lay over the top of the food.