Applebee's Tortilla Strips

Applebee's tortilla strips come out moderate, and it is the frying oil rather than the corn that puts them there. The liquid and hydrogenated soybean oil is the one component in them that rates at moderate.

Why applebee's tortilla strips are rated moderate

Strip these back and they are simple: ground white corn treated with hydrated lime, then fried. The hydrated lime is the traditional processing step that turns corn into masa, and it has nothing to do with citrus or with histamine. Corn masa is a plant starch with very little protein, which matters because histamine forms when certain bacteria work on protein. That is why these are not high. What lifts them off the bottom is the liquid and hydrogenated soybean oil they are fried in, which sits at moderate. The rest of what is on the statement is processing chemistry: tbhq and citric acid keep the oil from going off, and dimethylpolysiloxane keeps the fryer from foaming. Neither of those is a histamine driver.

What changes your risk

• The soybean oil is the entire reason for the rating — the liquid and hydrogenated soybean oil is the moderate component. Nothing else on the ingredient statement pushes these up.
• The corn base is the mild part — ground white corn and the hydrated lime used to process it carry no histamine drivers, which is why these land at moderate rather than high.
• Portion is the practical lever — strips are usually a topping or a garnish rather than a plate of their own, so the amount of fried oil you actually eat with them is often small.
• Sitting time is a texture issue here, not a histamine one — corn strips are low in the protein histamine needs, so if they have been out a while they go soft rather than becoming a histamine concern.
• They rarely arrive alone — these tend to sit on top of something else, so what the strips are scattered over often matters more to how you feel than the strips themselves.

Lower-histamine alternatives

If soybean oil is a component you avoid, Applebee's does list several items rated lower: Diced Grilled Chicken and Prime Rib for protein, Asian Greens on the vegetable side, and Seasoning for flavor. On the sweeter end their lower list includes Caramel Sauce, Syrup, Whipped Cream, and Red Passion Fruit. There is no lower-histamine tortilla strip on this menu, so if you want the crunch specifically, this is the item they have and there is not a milder version of it here.

How to lower the risk

Applebee's publishes what is in these strips but nothing that can be left off, so treat them as a fixed item. The most useful thing to know is where they show up: they are typically a garnish, so the strips are usually a small part of what you are eating and the dish underneath them deserves more of your attention. If you are steering around soybean oil, building the meal from the lower list such as Diced Grilled Chicken or Prime Rib with Asian Greens is a cleaner approach than trying to work around a fried garnish.

Common questions

Is corn high in histamine?

Plain corn is not. Ground white corn is low in protein, and histamine needs protein to form, so the corn base of these strips is the mild part. The moderate rating comes from the soybean oil they are fried in.

Is the lime in the ingredient list the citrus kind?

No. Hydrated lime here is the food-grade mineral used to turn corn into masa, a step that goes back centuries. It is not citrus lime and it is not a histamine liberator.

What are tbhq and dimethylpolysiloxane doing in there?

They are frying aids. Tbhq and citric acid keep the oil from spoiling, and dimethylpolysiloxane stops the fryer from foaming. Neither is a histamine driver, though some people prefer to limit additives generally.

Are these the same as Applebee's white corn tortilla chips?

They are close cousins and both are rated moderate for the same reason, the liquid and hydrogenated soybean oil. The chips carry a longer list of processing ingredients, but the histamine driver is the same in both.