Apple chips are a type of snack food made from fresh apples. Apple chips not only retain the original nutrients and natural flavor of apples, but also significantly extend their shelf life and reduce spoilage during storage and transportation. How are commercial apple chips made?
Standard Processing Procedure for Apple Chips:
1. Raw Material Selection
Different apple varieties vary in color, sweetness, and texture. Therefore, a single variety should be used to ensure consistency in the finished product’s taste and texture. Additionally, the apples must be free from pests and bruises.
2. Cleaning
Before entering the processing stage, apples need to be thoroughly cleaned using cleaning equipment to remove surface impurities, while also avoiding damage to the apple skin.
3. Peeling (optional)
Whether or not to peel the apples depends on the product positioning. Some manufacturers choose to process the apples with the peel intact to retain more dietary fiber and a natural appearance; others use peeling machines to remove the apple peel to obtain apple slices with a smoother texture and more uniform color.
4. Slicing
The apples were sliced into thin, uniform pieces to ensure consistent drying results.
5. Color preservation (optional)
To prevent oxidative browning, some production lines add a color preservation step after slicing, such as short-term soaking or spraying, to maintain the natural color of the apple chips.
The drying method determines the texture of apple chips.
Drying is the most crucial step in apple chips production, and different drying methods directly determine the texture, taste, and market positioning of the apple chips.
1. Hot Air Drying of Apple Chips
Hot air drying is the most common and relatively inexpensive method. By circulating hot air, the moisture content of the apple chips is gradually reduced. The resulting product has a soft or chewy texture, suitable for the mass consumer market.
2. Freeze-dried apple slices
The freeze-drying process uses low-temperature freezing and vacuum sublimation to remove water, preserving the nutrients and original form of the apples to the greatest extent possible. Freeze-dried apple slices have a crispy texture and excellent rehydration properties, making them a high-end fruit snack with high added value.
3. Vacuum-fried apple chips
Vacuum frying is a dehydration method performed under low temperature and low pressure, which quickly creates a crispy texture, preserves natural color, and results in a lower oil content compared to traditional frying. This process is commonly used to produce “apple chips,” which are very popular in the snack market.
In the commercial production of apple chips, consistent product quality is crucial for a company’s success. Therefore, using automated apple chips machine is particularly important. By properly configuring the washing, slicing, drying, and auxiliary equipment, companies can not only obtain high-quality apple chips but also reduce production costs.