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I finally bought a candy thermometer, so I did some experimenting with the pumpkin and celery root chips and some other stuff I have in the frig.
I found that both chips fry best at about 300 degrees F. If you fry them higher, they burn.
Celery Root/Pumpkin Chips
Raw vegetable
Peanut oil
Peel and thinly slice the vegetable. Set aside.
In a large pot heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Add a handful of the vegetable. The oil temperature will decrease. Allow the veg to cook at 175 to 200 degrees F for about 4 minutes. Then increase the temperature to 300 degrees, frying until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels or on a wire rack set on a cookie sheet. Season as you please.
Tips:
Don't stir the vegetables while they are cooking at the lower temperature because they will break. You can stir them to even out the cooking when they are crisping at the 300 degree temperature.
Season while they are still hot. If you use a powdered spice, like paprika or garlic powder, mix the spice with salt. The salt will help prevent the powder spice from clumping in one spot on your chips.
Work in progress:
Fauxtato hush puppy:
I had some leftover fauxtatoes so I decided to try out a fauxtato hush puppy. I mixed my fauxtato with powdered egg white to stiffen up the fauxtato. The mixture was still soft. I dropped it into the fat (325 degrees F) by the teaspoonful. Result: crispy, light and airy fritter. Nice way to use up leftovers. If I have some leftover pumpkin puree, I'll try this out for a pumpkin hush puppy (which would probably make a nice dessert type dish).
I did try using whey protein isolate----what a mess. Ditto for a whole egg. The added liquid of the whole egg made the mixture too loose. The egg white powder was best because it absorbed the excess liquid in the fauxtatoes and it was sticky enough to hold the hush puppy together.
I found that both chips fry best at about 300 degrees F. If you fry them higher, they burn.
Celery Root/Pumpkin Chips
Raw vegetable
Peanut oil
Peel and thinly slice the vegetable. Set aside.
In a large pot heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Add a handful of the vegetable. The oil temperature will decrease. Allow the veg to cook at 175 to 200 degrees F for about 4 minutes. Then increase the temperature to 300 degrees, frying until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels or on a wire rack set on a cookie sheet. Season as you please.
Tips:
Don't stir the vegetables while they are cooking at the lower temperature because they will break. You can stir them to even out the cooking when they are crisping at the 300 degree temperature.
Season while they are still hot. If you use a powdered spice, like paprika or garlic powder, mix the spice with salt. The salt will help prevent the powder spice from clumping in one spot on your chips.
Work in progress:
Fauxtato hush puppy:
I had some leftover fauxtatoes so I decided to try out a fauxtato hush puppy. I mixed my fauxtato with powdered egg white to stiffen up the fauxtato. The mixture was still soft. I dropped it into the fat (325 degrees F) by the teaspoonful. Result: crispy, light and airy fritter. Nice way to use up leftovers. If I have some leftover pumpkin puree, I'll try this out for a pumpkin hush puppy (which would probably make a nice dessert type dish).
I did try using whey protein isolate----what a mess. Ditto for a whole egg. The added liquid of the whole egg made the mixture too loose. The egg white powder was best because it absorbed the excess liquid in the fauxtatoes and it was sticky enough to hold the hush puppy together.
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