Spiced Tropical Fruit Chips

Not everyone who is raw or vegan can turn to nuts as a snack, and those that can, should probably think twice: a lot of alternatives are nut-based too! So what are we to do when we are craving something savory? Turn everything into a chip! So, we did just that. Well, maybe not everything, but damn if we haven’t tried. And what we did we get? Chips that are good for you and taste great too!

The main fruits we used to make the chips are: watermelon, pineapple, mango, coconut, strawberries, oranges, bananas, plantains, apples and pears. It seems like we have a tropical theme going on, but, not being able to travel, we thought we would bring the tropics to us.  Certainly it’s the next best thing.

Making The Chips

All the chips can be made plain or with the spices listed below. To begin, slice all the fruit thin. The thinner they are, the faster they’ll dry. Take note, however, that some fruits become very fragile when cut too thin (like the strawberries). But don’t cut them too thick either or they’ll never reach chip ‘crunch’. There’s a fine line and you’ll quickly learn how to navigate it. Above all, choose fruit that is firm. Nothing mushy. Some fruits, like mangos, are  much easier to cut when a little under ripe. You can use a potato peeler if you want the chips to be super thin. This also works with coconut, however I like both fruits a little thicker. We’ve actually found that if you slice mango too thinly, it loses it’s sweetness to the spices.

Like I said, a fine line.

When the fruit is prepared, first place it all on the silicone sheet lined dehydrator trays. Dehydrate at 118 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 hours. And don’t forget to turn the fruit over halfway through dehydration time so they’re getting evenly dehydrated.  Depending on the thickness of the fruit, some of the chips might already be done at this point. But for anything that isn’t, remove from silicone sheets and place on mesh for  4-6 hours more, according to the degree of crispness you want.  You can certainly check periodically through the process, but the rule is, the more water the fruit contains, the longer it will take to dehydrate.

A Word of Warning

Finally, if you’re going to do this, commit to a dehydrator jam-packed full of chips. Because you’ll be eating them like crazy! We’re fortunate here that each one of us has a different favorite so full blown fights don’t start! But I think you get the picture! Make a lot!

RAW VEGAN RECIPE: SPICED TROPICAL FRUIT CHIPS

JAMAICAN JERK

1 tbsp Onion Powder

one tbsp Garlic Powder

2 tsp cayenne pepper

two tsp ground pink salt

2 tsp ground pepper

2 tsp dried thyme (or 1 tsp ground)

one tsp raw sugar

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp smoked paprika

1.2 tsp hot pepper flakes

1/2 ground cinnamon

half tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground clove

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1 tiny pinch ghost salt or ground ghost pepper (optional as it is spicy without it)

Grind ingredients together. Lightly dust.

*pairings: watermelon, pineapple, mango, plantains

NEW MEXICAN CHILE

1 tbsp green hatch chile powder

one tbsp red hatch chile powder

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp oregano

¼ tsp basil

generous pinch of salt

Mix ingredients well. Lightly dust.

*pairings: pineapple, mango

CINNAMON SUGAR

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

½ cup ground raw sugar

Mix ingredients well and dust fruit.

*pairings: pineapple, apples, pears, bananas, oranges

YELLOW CURRY

1 tbsp yellow curry

one tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp salt

Mix ingredients well and dust the fruit

*pairings: coconut