Cheesy Calcutta Kale Chips Recipe! | Solluna by Kimberly Snyder (2024)

FAQs

What makes kale chips bitter? ›

To avoid bitterness, bake the kale at lower temperatures for a longer cook time. Another possibility is that the bitterness is caused by the oil used in the recipe. Olive oil is a popular choice for making kale chips, but can add a bitter flavor to kale chips.

To top it off, kale chips are usually labeled as raw, which means in order to get them crispy they are dehydrated and that takes a looooong time. So we've got expensive ingredients + a long production process = $7 for a mini bag of kale chips!

That's the beauty of these homemade baked kale chips. Made by quickly tossing together three simple ingredients – fresh kale, olive oil, and flaked sea salt – and baked low and slow for only 20 minutes, these crispy kale chips are easy to make, there are no mystery additives, and even fussy eaters snap them up.

To get perfectly uniform, crispy kale chips, the key is to bake them for longer, at a lower temperature. Baking kale chips at 300F for 20 to 25 minutes allows the vegetable to slightly dehydrate while it cooks, resulting in a perfectly crispy chip.

Adding salt and squeezing lemon make a big difference by removing bitterness. Adding some spicy or sweet flavors may help tame the strong flavor of bitter kale.

And unlike potato chips, kale retains its nutritional value when made into chips. Kale is high in fiber, antioxidants, vitamin A and calcium, as well as B vitamins, vitamin C and potassium. It's fat- and sodium-free, and the minuscule amounts of olive oil and salt used in my recipe barely bump up those amounts.

Kale contains a large amount of fiber, which is great for digestion but can be dangerous if you eat too much. If you overeat on kale chips (or any food) then you may experience bloating, gas, and constipation due to the excessive intake of fiber.

It is not likely that you would experience adverse effects from consuming kale chips. If the chips are very salty and you over-consume them, you might feel bloated from the excess salt intake. You may also feel some stomach discomfort from the fiber if you eat a lot of them and are not used to eating high-fiber foods.

To keep them crispy, it is important to let them cool completely. Once cooled, they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. You could also try adding a few grains of raw rice or silica packs (like those found in store-bought kale chips) to the airtight container. & Perfect for snacking!

Rinse and dry the kale leaves before removing most of the centre stalk, leaving long, thin pieces of kale. Toss the kale in the oil, then sprinkle with the sugar, cinnamon and ½ tablespoon of sea salt. Arrange the leaves in a single layer on a couple of baking trays and bake for 5 minutes, until crisp.

What kind of kale is best for chips? ›

Curly Kale

These crinkly, ruffled leaves are found bunched together in nearly every supermarket in the United States. Curly kales are distinctively mild-flavored and easy to cook with. These types are most commonly used for chips, green smoothies, and pestos.

A typical type of compound that causes a bitter taste in potatoes is potato glycoalkaloids (PGA) (Sinden et al. 1976).

Pineapple. My secret to taming the flavor of the raw kale and making it nearly imperceptible! Anytime I add pineapple to a green smoothie, it completely smooths and offsets the taste of the greens. As a bonus, pineapple also offers a variety of vitamins and minerals.

Does massaging kale make it less bitter? The process of softening kale also helps to reduces the vegetable's bitterness by releasing bitter compounds. Some claim that massaged kale therefore needs to be rinsed before eating, since the bitter compounds may stay on the leaves after they have been released.

The best quality of kale or collards—flavorful, tender, non-bitter leaves—results from fast growth without heat or moisture stress. If the plants are overheated or struggling to take up water, they will produce chemicals resulting in pungent or bitter flavors.