Bananas

Dehydrated bananas have the same nutritional value as natural form bananas, right? Particularly potassium?

My literature on dehydrating says yes, but . . .

I'd say yes, all dehydrating does is remove water.

That said, I vastly prefer flattened bananas from Trader Joes - not quite the same as dehydrated, and taste better to me than an actual banana.

lori:

There's no Trader Joe's in Denver (or in Miami), although rumor is there'll be one soon in both. I looked to see if they had an online store where I could get them, but they don't, and all I found were raves on blogs about them and an image of the package. I'll see if anything similar is availabe here, or I may have to arrange for you (or someone else in a town with a TJ's) to broker them for me.

I avoid bananas when going camping. I have heard something in them attract mosquitoes.

Kevon, those things look like a dried whole (yet flat) banana.
Looks to me like you could simply dehydrate a crunched banana and be good to go. What's so special about them?

&




I'm not sure what's so different, but I'd still like to try one. It could be that bananas are difficult to home-dehydrate? Paul, I think that what'd be special about them is that they'd be SO MUCH EASIER to carry.

Any thoughts, lori?

They're not dehydrated. I've always found banana chips bland and blah - Flattened bananas are chewy and soft like fruit leather but they are not pulsed, just lengthwise strips of banana that won't turn black after an hour in the bear can. The flavor is a lot more intense. It's sort of like banana candy, except not really candy-like.

Any thoughts, lori? [/quote]

Fresh might due to going into overripe fast from heat, but not dry. You are either a skeeter magnet or not. I am loved by them no matter what I eat

When I put thicker cut fruit, including bananas, and meats in the dehydrator to dry, they come out chewy. I've never gotten bananas to come out crisp like store bought. There is something added to the chips that make them crisp. Just don't know what it is. The dehydrator simply removes water and some volatile oils. Most of the oils stay in and that's what makes the final product chewy.

A number of nanner chips are flash fried - they don't taste greasy like potato chips but get the "crunch" that way.

I can't stand the greasy "fried" banana chips, but love the freeze-dried ones from "Just Tomatoes."

For other fruits, I prefer the taste of dried rather than freeze-dried, but I packed the freeze-dried ones for my recent abortive Wind Rivers trip to save weight. Normally my favorite hiking snack is the dried Turkish apricots (no sulfur dioxide, which I find nauseating) from Fred Meyer.

OM, if your Trader Joe's has their freeze dried ones, pick up a couple bags. They are GOOD.

the trader joes vacuum fried chips are great! no sugar added, just banana and palm oil.

The flattened bananas from Trader Joes are amazing. I have two packs in my pantry right now. Delicious, moist. Excellent product, then again, what isn't from Trader Joes? Another great product from them is dried mangoes. MMMMM.

Palm oil is a saturated fat, not good for the health. I can't stand fried banana chips anyway. I tried the flattened ones--too heavy and I dislike the taste. It's either fresh or freeze-dried for me. YMMV!

It is pretty scary to read just how un-heart healthy nanner chips are. I was looking at them at TJ's. Eek.

palm / coconut is the only oil I use in my paleo diet. Very good for you.

Not good if you have cholesterol issues. Bad, bad stuff when it is used for frying. There is a lot of theories out there on palm oils of late. Both sides feuding. For now I am fine with only using canola or olive oils.

I would agree with Sarbar on this one. Why wouldn't olive oil be just as "paleo" as palm oil? Its use as food has been documented for millennia...

Yup, I would have to second Oldranger on that. Unless the paleodiet is preoils in general, I would have to say olive oil fits right in.

sk

I've got to go back to see how we got from bananas to here...

simple - it tastes batter

Dehydrated bananas have no same nutritional value as the fresh natural bananas.
Dehydrated banana lose the vitamins and nutrition as compare to natural bananas.

Some vitamins can be lost in food preservation, depending on technique. Minerals should stay the same unless there is some liquid lost in processing, other than that evaporated.

FWIW, if you are specifically looking to replace potassium, consider potatoes. A medium white potato has about double the potassium of a medium banana. Surprised me when I looked them up in a nutrition database. Mashed potatoes seem to be very popular with many backpackers. I thought it was just because they are cheap and readily available. Maybe they appeal to an unrecognized craving for potassium. Loaded with cheese, the potatoes also provide fat, sodium, and protein. Toss in some dried parsley, also readily available, and you have a high-potency green added.

CM

This is how I dry my bananas.
First i squeeze some lemon juice in a bowl.
Next I slice the bananas a bit sideways so that each bit is oblong (not sure why I do this...)
Coat the banana bits in lemon juice then let them drip dry (via colander) next I sprinkle on them a mix of pulverized 'raw" sugar (done in a blender) and cinnamon.
cinnamon is a preservative , same for sugar.
Then I dry them for several hours using the "fruit" setting . (takes most of the day)
They come out chewy and stay good for over a year.
The really dry stuff you buy in the shops are indeed fried.
I do apples the same way, sometimes omitting the lemon dip.
Franco

citric acid, aka lemon or lime juice. Lightly coat the banana slices with the juice before dehydrating. and dehydrate for a couple of days minimum

Bananas need no sugar when ripe, for my taste. Obviously, mileage varies.

For a change in flavor, sometime dry pineapple tidbits, reserving the unsweetened juice for your other foods' color-preserving bath. Great for most fruits and shredded cabbage...

The idea is one borrowed from SGT Rock. He suggested dipping apple slices in pineapple juice.

CamperMom