I spent my entire life thinking I hated banana chips. It turns out I was wrong.
Process pieces is a series for paid subscribers that explores my writing and cooking processes, and I encourage you to comment with your own processes if you feel so called. I hope you enjoy!
A fun announcement: I’m teaching a virtual workshop on tyromancy (cheese fortune telling) and pickling (including pickling’s relationship to shellwork!) with Jen Billock on the 22nd.
We’d love you to join us! (And we’ll send around a recording for anyone who can’t make the live session).
Please bring your own cheese, and your pickling questions, and come learn with us!
Ah, banana chips, the bane of my snacking existence. About as exciting as munching on a chunk of drywall, but with less flavor, most store-bought banana chips have a terrible texture and either taste artificially banana-y or taste like nothing at all.
I’m not being dramatic when I say that I have been a lifelong avoider of the banana chip: If I see them in my trail mix I will eat out literally everything else and save those chips for the compost. If someone offers them to me at a party, which has happened more times than I really expected it would, I pause to consider whether or not I want to attend that person’s parties ever again (I’m joking…kind of. Please keep inviting me to your parties).
About 1/4 of the way through my next book manuscript, I realized to my horror that I was now contractually obligated to not only make banana chips but also consume them in the name of recipe testing.
So, while writing Essential Preserving, I’ve given myself a seemingly insurmountable task: Make a banana chip that not only stays crisp but that I actually want to eat. Not just one I tolerate, but one I would seek out as a snack in my kitchen.
Was I able to do it?
As it turns out, yes I was, and to great effect.
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