Vegetable chips
Vegetable chips , also called chips, are a disk-shaped foods that can be made of various vegetables. Mostly it is parsnips , sweet potatoes and beetroot . They consist of very thin and fried vegetable slices. They are also available in a baked or dried version. In general, potato chips are counted among the vegetable chips, but not associated with them.
Manufacturing
Raw vegetables are put into a cutting machine for preparation . The cutting machine works like a centrifuge with sharp knives on the sides. The centrifugal force presses the vegetables against the sharp knives and then cuts them into approximately 2–4 mm thin slices. These are then placed in a stainless steel deep fryer and deep-fried there, usually in sunflower oil, at 160 ° C for about 6–12 minutes.
Raw vegetables usually consist of 75% water. Thanks to their weight, they first sink to the ground. The heat removes moisture from them, causing the vegetable slices to shrink and become light until they rise to the surface. After draining, the vegetable chips are salted and, depending on the taste, mixed with other spice mixtures. This is done in a drum machine in which the chips are still warm and the spice mixture sticks to the chips due to the heat.
Composition and nutritional value
In the production of vegetable chips (this also applies to potato chips), hardened fatty acids, also known as trans fatty acids, are created by deep-frying at high temperatures . Hardened fats are produced industrially by heating vegetable fats to 150–240 ° C. Since hydrogenated fats have a long shelf life, they are used in finished products. In addition, the Maillard reaction produces relatively large amounts of acrylamide , which is suspected of being carcinogenic. Acrylamide is formed when carbohydrates are heated to high temperatures. These fats are then declared as vegetable fats on the packaging.
In a study carried out by Stiftung Warentest in August 2017 of 15 vegetable chip mixes on the market, only three of the products tested received a good rating, while three of them showed an increased concentration with acrylamide and one with a high level of nitrate , which is too Reduce nitrite and thus form carcinogenic nitrosamines . Overall, the large amounts of fat, salt and sugar contained in the products were also criticized.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dr. Ulrich Strunz, Andreas Jopp: Fit with fat: the omega-3 revolution . Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-453-60347-9 , pp. 223 .
- ↑ Acrylamide: Danger of cancer from food? Retrieved December 10, 2016 .
- ↑ Vegetable chips: Critical substances spoil the nibbling fun. In: test.de. Stiftung Warentest , August 29, 2017, accessed on August 30, 2017 .
- ↑ Why vegetable chips are not a healthier alternative. In: welt.de. Die Welt , August 29, 2017, accessed August 30, 2017 .