Homemade Purple Potato Chips Recipe

My 2 year old daugther, exclaims "purple potato chips". It sounds silly, but they are fun to make. Kids will love the fact that you making such an interesting snack. Homemade chips fresh out of the oil cannot be beat. Plus I think you eat less when you make it yourself. You know how much hard work goes into it, so it's a lot harder to make the whole batch disappear quickly. At the same time, they are so good that you might not be able to help yourself. 

Purple potatoes

Peanut oil (use canola or vegetable oil if there is an allergy concern)

Coarse sea salt

1. First you need to slice up your potatoes. A mandolin slicer is the best tool for the job. It enables you to get nice, even cuts you would never be able to with just your hands and a knife.

2. Select what you will use to fry in. You could either use an electric deep fryer or a cast iron dutch oven with a deep fry thermometer attached. I think the dutch oven option gives you more control over your heat, plus a dutch oven can be used for a thousand other things.

3. Heat the oil up to 375 degrees.

4. Place potato slices in, one at a time, so they don't stick. Don't overcrowd them by adding too many. Work in small batches. And it's good to test a couple first to get your technique down.

5. It's harder to tell when purple potato are done by just looking at them, as they change in color is not that drastic. The best way to know is if you see the bubbling around the chips stop. This means all the water inside the chip is gone and they are ready to come out.

6. Place your chips on a cooling rack that is on top of a sheet pan lined with paper towel or newspaper. This will help get excess oil off the chips.

7. Season your chips with salt as soon as they are on your cooling rack. I like a coarse sea salt. I have a sea salt grinder, so I can adjust how coarse or fine I want my salt.

Purple potatoes contain carotenoids. Carotenoids are naturally occurring pigments that have been shown to have health benefits. Beta-carotene is an example of a carotenoid. White flesh potatoes are lacking in, so you could say they aren't as nutrition. Is there a great deal in difference in nutrition? From what I read there is mixed feelings on this, some say yes, some say no. But what I can say for sure is that purple potatoes just look cool!