There's been a small debate among certain members of my family lately on whether or not a baked/air fried round of squashed cauliflower dusted with parmesan qualifies as a chip. Well, of course it's a "chip," in much the same manner as "cow chips," but is it an adequate substitute for potato chips?
Let's settle this. Potato chips (the American kind, not the English version of French Fry) have a long, rich and varied history. And in that regard, I will say flatly that a cauliflower floret, ground up, flattened and seasoned, and cooked in any other manner than deep-frying, is not a "chip." Evidence for this? Pringles. I rest my case.
Least one argue, perforce, that cauliflower chips are healthier than potato chips - not so much. There may be an argument to be made that air-frying is healthier than deep frying, just as one might suggest that a steak with most of the fat and sinew boiled out is healthier than a steak seared on the grill. You can always make something healthier if you don't care how it tastes. More to the point, the recipe for Cauliflower Chips identifies the following virtues: Egg-free (duh), gluten-free, low carbohydrate (this is where cauliflower wins, but not by all that much), nut-free, soy-free and vegetarian (again, egg-free. Also, beef-free). So, unless you're frying your potato chips in bacon fat (yum!, now that I think about it), cauliflower has a negligible edge in the health department. Also, it tastes like cauliflower. Which is fine, but not as a substitute for a bag of Utz's Wavy. I hope that clears things up.
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