Plantain chips are a popular snack, loved by consumers for their sweet taste and crunchy texture. The process of producing plantain chips requires a series of delicate steps, from the selection of plantain to the final packaging, all of which require strict control and sophisticated equipment. Below is what is the process of production of plantain chips.
1. Selection of plantain
The first step in producing plantain chips is to select high quality plantain. Usually, manufacturers choose green plantain because overripe plantain can affect the taste and texture of the finished product. The plantain selected need to be free of damage and disease spots to ensure the quality of the final product.
Selected plantain first need to be thoroughly washed to remove surface soil and impurities. After washing, the plantain are peeled manually or mechanically. Peeling is an important step as the plantain skin affects the taste and aesthetics of the product.
After peeling, the plantain are cut into thin slices. The thickness of the slices is usually between 1-2 mm to ensure that the slices are evenly heated and achieve the desired crispness during subsequent processing.
Cut plantain slices will be sent to hot water for rinsing. The purpose of rinsing is to remove the starch from the surface of the slices while maintaining the color and flavor of the plantain. After blanching, the plantain slices need to be cooled quickly to prevent excessive softening. Usually, cold water or cold air is used for the cooling process.
Some plantain slices are deep-fried to enhance their crunchy texture. During the frying process, the temperature control is particularly important, usually between 160-180 degrees Celsius, and the frying time is usually within a few minutes. After frying, the plantain slices are fed into a degreasing unit to remove the oil from the surface of the plantain slices.
The fried plantain chips can be seasoned as desired. The seasoning step can be adjusted according to market demand and consumer preference to enrich the flavor of the plantain chips.
The flavored plantain chips will be tested for quality to ensure that each slice meets the standard. Qualified plantain chips will be packaged in sealed bags to maintain their freshness and crispness. The packaging process is usually carried out in an aseptic environment to prevent bacterial contamination.
Of course, the production process of plantain chips may vary depending on the variety of plantain and the requirements of the finished product, for example, some factories do not need to deep-frying step, and directly dry the plantain chips for sale, for different processing requirements, we can configure different plantain chips processing solutions to help customers to improve production efficiency.
