How healthy are those parsnip chips?

At a recent Conference in Auckland on allergies, one of the giveaways was a bag of parsnip crisps.

As I crept down the Auckland motorway heading home at 5 .30 pm on Friday not knowing how long until I had the chance to stop for tea, I snacked on the crisps.

I can easily say no to lollies but put a bowl of crisps in front of me and I can’t resist, especially with classic kiwi onion dip.

For that reason I don’t buy crisps except for parties so wondered if the parsnip crisps might be a healthier option.

Standard crisps rate poorly on any nutrition scale, they are high fat, high salt and the vitamin C present in the whole unpeeled potato has been depleted by the processing and heating.

Any of the flavoured options have a long list of ingredients that make me wince at the number of additives needed to make them taste good and preserve them.

Six and a half hours after leaving Auckland I got home and was able to check the parsnip crisp label to see what I had eaten.

I was pleasantly surprised at some of the differences between these and other crispy snacks but not surprised that they are still high fat.

Deep fry anything in lots of oil and it will soak up lots of fat.

The ingredients list, the kind I like with just 3 ingredients, parsnip, sunflower oil and sea salt tells us the sunflower oil is high oleic.

This is a polyunsaturated fat, the fats that are beneficial though sunflower is naturally high in oleic acid anyway.

The high fat does make them high calorie at 2400 kj/574kcal per 100 grams, similar to standard crisps.

The packet claims they are good source of fibre and at 14 grams per 100 g they are better than most wholemeal breads and well above the 6 grams per 100 grams we like to see for fibre content.

They are called lightly salted and indeed for a crisp they are low salt at 160 mg of sodium per 100 grams compared with standard crisp which are around 1000 mg per 100 grams.

Great to find they have enough parsnip flavour without having to add lots of salt.

I like slightly bitter flavoured food and drinks but was not so keen on the slightly burnt taste and appearance of the product.

I don’t really like mashed parsnip but enjoy roasted parsnip as heating food in oil at high temperatures brings out caramel flavours in a process called the Maillard reaction where food components react together to produce the browning and flavour we find in lots of fried or baked food products.

The Maillard reaction has gotten a bit more attention lately, in fact a chemistry geek friend has been asked to update a whole book she wrote on it years ago.

The problem with the browning process is compounds called acrylamides also develop.

These products are part of any browning as on bread crusts and also leaves a burnt flavour which probably explains why kids, who often have a more acute sense of taste, often won’t eat their crusts.

Lick a bread crust with your eyes closed and see what they are tasting.

These compounds are being researched for possible detrimental effects on health.

No one is advising we try to avoid these altogether, this would be impossible but there is some advice to keep intake of acrylamides low, another reason to avoid too many deep fried products.

Though I do like a bit of bitter flavour, the over browned burnt flavour is why I have changed from my usual brand of wheat biscuits and I hope the proper crisp people can find a way to toast these to crispy texture without over roasting them like the packet I had was.

To sum up, in the same way veggie juice is not a substitute for fresh veggies, neither are these crisps but they are an improvement on standard crisps. I was thinking a mix of roast veggie crisps would be yummy and add a bit more nutrition to this party food; I am told they are already available.

❚ Rosemary Law, Registered Dietitian