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Crispy and unbelievably tasty, these homemade potato chips beat the store bought ones hands down! And they are much healthier for you (in moderation). So what’s not to love!!?
I’m a changed woman.
I mentioned last week that we are looking at the last of our store bought snacks etc after reading a great book, ‘Ultra-processed People’ by Chris van Tulleken. (Read the full post here.)
Well…
We have eaten mainly homecooked meals for a while now, but our snacks needed addressing. We were undoing all the healthy work we put in by eating rubbish outside of the meals.
This book changed that.
My husband is what we lovingly call the Fizz Monster and after hearing a few talks and reading the beginning of the book, he’s given up of his own volition!!!
I KNOW!!!!!!! It’s that powerful!
We are on a mission to find a healthy, tasty alternatives to the Ultra processed junk food we were eating before.
After all, food nourishes your soul as well as your body..
Homemade Potato Chips – The Way Forward!
We looked at what we ate most as a family, and the easy snack of a packet of potato chips (crisps in the UK) was something we would miss.
The only problem is they always leave us wanting more.. We wanted something a bit more filling.
Since we always look at the ingredients in everything now, we checked out a packet of store bought ones…
Now, if we apply our easy definition of an ultra-processed food: if it’s wrapped in plastic and contains more than one ingredient that you wouldn’t find in a domestic kitchen, then this would be classed ultra processed.
See the Nova food classification here
Why Homemade Potato chips are better for you
We decided we wanted to try to make them ourselves. That way, we know exactly what is in it, what it’s cooked in, and how old they are!
- Store bought crisps are made to be overeaten, and eaten quickly. Homemade potato chips are more filling
- The fat used to fry storebought is usually a damaging seed oils that can affect our health in awful ways. Home cooked in Lard or tallow, these crisps nourish with fat soluble vitamins that our bodies need and help to keep us fuller for longer.
- Although Crisps from the store come with a use by date, when you make them at home, you know exactly how fresh the food is.
So lets make a snack!
Ingredients:
Potatoes
Beef tallow, or Lard
Salt
That’s it!!! Seriously! Of course you could add flavours and herbs you like, but that really is it!
The key to crispy crisps is the process though.
The process of making the best homemade potato chips
First job is to thinly slice the potatoes.
You can either use a knife, a vegetable peeler, or a meat slicer.
Each has it’s merits, and we have done each. but we definitely prefer the meat slicer, if you have one.
Let me show you the difference
This is with a knife
This is with a vegetable peeler:
And this is with the slicer:
The next job, once you have your slices, is to wash away some of the starch. Rinse under a cold tap for a few minutes.
Next is probably THE most important tip for a crispy potato chip.
Dry, Dry, Dry!!!!
Removing as much of the moisture as you can means the crisps get really crispy when they cool down!!!
The next tip is also pretty crucial. Place the sliced potatoes into COLD fat.
Now, you can shallow fry these on a hob in a cast iron pan, or you can use a deep fryer. It’s completely up to you. If you are making a small batch, the pan might be easier to keep your eye on.
Either way, lay the dried slices onto the fat and then turn on the heat to medium.
As the oil gets hot, the potatoes start to fry.
Keep a close eye on them! This is not the time to start another kitchen job, or pop into another room!! You want them to go golden brown. In a split second they can go from brown to burnt, so stay with them!!
These ones were just the right side of done for us. If you want them paler, remove from the oil earlier.
Take the crisps out and lay to drain on a tray. sprinkle with sea salt, or Himalayan pink salt while hot, and allow to cool.
Once they’re cool, enjoy!!
Homemade Potato chips without all the additives, fresh from the pan!
It really doesn’t get better than that!
And of course if you have a vacuum packer with a seal function, you can make them portable!
Next we plan to experiment with flavours, but that’s for another day..
Until next time friend x
Other posts you may enjoy:
Homemade Potato Chips
Ingredients
- 1 Large Baking Potato
- Beef tallow, or lard, for frying
- Salt
Instructions
- Slice the potato as thinly as you can, with either a knife or a meat slicer
- Rinse the slices to wash away some of the starch and let drain
- Dry the slices THOROUGHLY! This is vital for a crispy potato chip
- Lay the slices on COLD fat, either in a cast iron pan, or in a deep fryer, and turn on the heat to a medium heat.
- Cook until golden brown. Keep a close eye on the potatoes as they burn fast.
- Take off the heat and drain on a clean paper towel. Sprinkle with salt while still hot.
- Allow to cool and enjoy!!
Having read this I thought it was rather enlightening. I appreciate you finding the
time and effort to put this informative article together.
I once again find myself personally spending a
lot of time both reading and leaving comments.
But so what, it was still worthwhile!