Nutrition
| Per 100 g | Per 1 oz (28 g) | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 331 kcal | 94 kcal |
| Protein | 8.8 g | 2.5 g |
| Fat | 10.8 g | 3 g |
| saturated | 1.5 g | 0.4 g |
| Carbohydrate | 37.9 g | 10.7 g |
| sugars | 37.7 g | 10.7 g |
| Fibre | 15.4 g | 4.4 g |
| Sodium | 4174 mg | 1183 mg |
Estimated from the ingredients, for the finished dried product. Actual values vary with the produce you use and how far you dry it.
Ingredients
- 1.8 kg large beetroot
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) sea salt flakes
Instructions
- Wear gloves or accept stained hands for two days. Beetroot juice binds to skin and soaks into a wooden board, so this is a job for a plastic one.
- Peel the beetroot and slice them on a mandolin if you have one. A knife cut varies by a millimetre or two without your noticing, and on a root this dense that difference is the gap between a chip and a bendy disc.
- Cover the slices with the water, vinegar and oil and leave them a quarter of an hour. The vinegar holds the colour, which otherwise browns in the heat, and the oil carries it onto every face of the slice.
- Lift the slices out and let them drain rather than tipping the bowl onto the trays. Liquid pooling under a slice takes as long to dry as the beetroot does.
- Lay them out with no overlaps, then scatter the salt flakes on while the surfaces are still wet. Salt added after drying just falls into the bottom of the jar.
- Dry at 57 °C for 8 hours. These shrink to roughly a third of their size, so expect the trays to look half empty by the end of the run.
- Test one that has been off the machine for five minutes: it should snap cleanly and taste sweet rather than earthy. A chip that folds has water at its centre and needs longer.
- Seal them in a jar the moment they are cold and use them within two months. The oil is what limits these — plain dried beetroot keeps far longer, and also tastes of much less.
