Rhubarb chips ??

(Excuse the spelling.)

I am wondering does anyone have an idead for a better way to make rhubarb chips
right now we cut the RB stalk to about 3-4 inchs long, slice them thin on the slicer and slowly dry them out in a warm oven,
they are good for about a half hour them they get all soft.
they are in the oven for hours to dry them out.
any advice??


Thanks

TB

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Sunday, June 02, 2002 - 12:07 am: Edit

What about drying them out first, then bake them.
One of those dryer's with all the layers, like for banana chips.
Fruit dryer thingy's

By Thebaker (Thebaker) on Sunday, June 02, 2002 - 12:23 pm: Edit

We where thinking of useing that to keep the dry..

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Sunday, June 02, 2002 - 06:11 pm: Edit

well, I don't know what to tell you.
Call a company that does dry fruit.
See if they will help you out.
It's not like your a threat to their sales.
What have ya got to lose.?

By Cheftim (Cheftim) on Sunday, June 02, 2002 - 07:05 pm: Edit

Just throwing this out.
Dried Fruit is soft.
Potatoe Chips are crisp because they are Fried.

By Thebaker (Thebaker) on Sunday, June 02, 2002 - 07:19 pm: Edit

I was thinking about frying but wouldnt they shrink up like potato chips do?

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Sunday, June 02, 2002 - 07:26 pm: Edit

I don't think you want to fry them.
They'd be jerky.
I think it would take all the taste out of them.
But, I could be wrong, hell it's happened before.
LOL.
Baker, try it, let us know.

By Cheftim (Cheftim) on Sunday, June 02, 2002 - 07:32 pm: Edit

IN one hotel I worked at whe made lotus root chips by frying them.

By Cheftim (Cheftim) on Sunday, June 02, 2002 - 08:13 pm: Edit

Thinking about Frying probaly won't work. Bananas, potatoes, lotus root all have a lot of starch in them. Is Ruhbarb Starchy?

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Sunday, June 02, 2002 - 08:38 pm: Edit

I don't think it's a question of the starch, but more of the water and fiber content of ruhbarb.
But cheftim you bring up a good point.
1.) Would it be better to fry items with a high starch content or bake them?
2.) How about the fiber in items, does this help or hurt in frying or baking?
3.) When a product has a couple of things like high sugar content, high fiber, and starch maybe it would be better to sautee' or heat them somehow, and then bake or fry.
I don't know, just some thoughts.

By Tincook (Tincook) on Sunday, June 02, 2002 - 10:27 pm: Edit

It mostly an issue of water content. When the vegie is placed in the hot oil, the water expands as steam, and when it escapes, it is replaced by the oil. That is why tortilla chips are best made from stale tortillas.

Last semester at school we had the same issue when making root vegetable chips.

You might try purging the rhubarb with salt or sugar or both, rinsing it off, then finish drying or frying

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Monday, June 03, 2002 - 12:02 am: Edit

"You might try purging the rhubarb with salt or sugar or both, rinsing it off, then finish drying or frying........"
This may not be a bad idea. Try using brown sugar, but don't rinse it off.
And you might try the drying process first, before starting again with the frying.
Don't ask me why I think this, but I think the salt would make it tough, and it would soak up too much of it and not release enough.
Does that make sense?

By Tincook (Tincook) on Monday, June 03, 2002 - 01:14 am: Edit

You betcha. The process is the same as in cured meats like hams. So yeah it would pick up salt and suger. The key is to control the amount used and the time used.

Maybe you could try crystilising it like ginger or citrus rind?

I was kinda wondering what you were using these chips for.

On second thought, maybe if your product had more sugar inside of it, it would be crunchy. I rember reading about some sort of apple chip being made in the oven. I think it was paint with syrup or something.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Monday, June 03, 2002 - 01:40 am: Edit

Maybe you could try crystilising it like ginger or citrus rind?...............

YES!!!.
I bet this would work.
good thinking.
Baker, try this, let us know.
thanks

By Thebaker (Thebaker) on Monday, June 03, 2002 - 05:15 am: Edit

I will give your ideas a try and report back

Thanks

By Grimod (Grimod) on Monday, June 03, 2002 - 07:14 am: Edit

Good Morning!

I make a dessert (Pineapple "Sunflowers") which has layers of crispy super thin pineapple and coconut sorbet. I cut the pineapple as thin as possible on a slicer, dip it in simple syrup then lay it on a silicone sheet and dry it out in a slow oven. Depending on the humidity, it stays dry for a couple days. Sometimes you need to dry it again. Maybe I missed it, what are you using the rhubarb for?

Grimod

By Thebaker (Thebaker) on Monday, June 03, 2002 - 06:57 pm: Edit

Simple Syrup sounds like a good idea
right now we brush them with corn syrup and dry them in the oven..

we dont use the chips they are for the Kitchen
i think they garnish the tuna tartar with them but i am not sure

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Monday, June 03, 2002 - 08:09 pm: Edit

All this for some ex.chef's garnish!!??
never again.

By Thebaker (Thebaker) on Tuesday, June 04, 2002 - 05:55 am: Edit

Yeah
and they dont take care of them
They dont keep them covered which does not help keep them crisp...

By Dafatpigeon (Dafatpigeon) on Tuesday, June 04, 2002 - 09:36 pm: Edit

Frying is the way to go. Root vegetables fry very well usually. I have fried fresh artichoke heart chips, beet chips, rhubarb chips, lotus root, etc. Just slice 'em thin (use chinese mandolin if slicer will not get them thin enough), pat dry, and fry. Make sure grease is clean, or they will burn up before getting crisp. If you are still having problems with them try a very light dusting of flour or cornstarch before frying. This method works great on thin lemon slices too(sprinkle liberally with sugar when they come out of the grease).

Hope this helps you,
chef mike

By Thebaker (Thebaker) on Wednesday, June 05, 2002 - 07:31 pm: Edit

We are going to stick with sliced thin coated with corn syrup and baked dry
we store them in a food dryer.

the frying made them curl up. they want long crips slices

thanks all for the advice..

By Thebaker (Thebaker) on Wednesday, June 05, 2002 - 07:31 pm: Edit

We are going to stick with sliced thin coated with corn syrup and baked dry
we store them in a food dryer.

the frying made them curl up. they want long crips slices

thanks all for the advice..

By Ltom (Ltom) on Thursday, June 06, 2002 - 12:15 pm: Edit

You could try dusting the chips with icing sugar (bake on parchment). When dry they must be removed from the parchment & stored in a covered container. The icing sugar gives a matte finish to grapefruit chips & pineapple chips that we use as garnish.