What Is The Process of Production of Plantain Chips?
Plantain chips are a popular and healthy snack, and the process of making them involves a number of steps, each of which is crucial, from the selection of raw materials to the final packaging. Let's discuss what is the process of production of plantain chips?
1. Plantain Sourcing and Acceptance
The production of high quality plantain chips starts with good quality plantain. The factory usually purchases green plantain from a trusted supplier. The bananas are subjected to stringent quality checks, including appearance, size and disease free.
2. Washing and Peeling
Accepted plantain are fed into a washing machine for cleaning to remove surface dust and impurities. After washing, the plantain will be fed into the peeling machine or peeled manually by workers. In order to ensure the hygiene and quality of the product, the peeling process needs to be carried out in an aseptic environment.
3. Slicing
After peeling, the plantain are fed into a slicing machine where they are cut into uniform slices according to a set thickness. The thickness of the slices is usually between 3-5 millimeters, which ensures the crispness of the plantain slices and allows them to be evenly heated during the subsequent frying or baking process.
4. Pretreatment
After slicing, the plantain slices are fed into a pre-processing facility for soaking, usually with lemon juice or brine, to prevent the slices from discoloring during subsequent processing. This step not only maintains the beauty of the plantain slices, but also adds to their flavor.
5. Frying or Baking
After pre-processing, the plantain chips are fed into a fryer or oven for deep-frying or baking. Deep-frying is the traditional method of processing, which makes the banana slices more crispy but higher in calories. Baking, on the other hand, is a healthier way of preparation that reduces the intake of fats and oils. Whichever method is used, the temperature and time need to be strictly controlled to ensure the taste and quality of the plantain chips.
6. Drain and cool
In the case of fried banana chips, they will pass through a draining machine to remove excess oil after being removed from the pan. The plantain chips, whether fried or baked, are then fed into a cooling unit for cooling for subsequent packaging.
7. Flavoring
After cooling, the plantain chips are seasoned according to market demand. Common seasonings include sprinkling salt, applying honey or adding other natural flavors. The seasoning process needs to be evenly distributed to ensure a consistent texture from one slice to the next.
8. Packaging
The seasoned plantain chips are fed into the packaging machine for packaging. Packaging needs to be carried out in an aseptic environment to prevent secondary contamination. Packaging materials are usually food grade plastic bags or aluminum foil bags with good moisture and oxidation resistance.
Through scientific management and advanced plantain chips production equipment, plantain chips factory is able to produce delicious and healthy plantain chips to meet the market demand.