Hoi, I was wondering about dehydrating apple slices. I have never done this, so......... I would like for you folks who dehydrate veg and fruit to post on here your favourite, tried and tested suggestions to me of how to dehydrate apple slices. Things like slice thickness, time and temp levels. To use or not to use things like lemon juice to keep the apple flesh from browning, flavour enhancers such as cinnimon, etc. Just anything really. Just tell me what you do and the reasoning behind it so I can grasp your concept. Thanks a mil.
I watching this post too Sjoerd. I have a dehydrator, but have never done apples. I have a basket of apples here that I'd like to try dehydrating. The instruction book says to wash all fruit and remove any blemishes, and then slice. Apples may be treated with pineapple or lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Drain and remove excess moisture with paper towel and place in dehydrator. Then it gets a little tricky ... it may take anywhere between 4-15 hours to dehydrate at 55-60°C, depending on the thickness of the slices. The texture when done simply says 'pliable'.
Thanks Eileen! NETTY-- That is some good info. One thing that I would like to know is what thickness ought the apple slices be---obviously the thickness determines how long they will have to stay in the dehydrator.
Sorry, S. I haven't done any apples, but my MIL used to do them on her wood burning stove and a wire rack, but I have never actually dried any. Maybe we should all just jump in and try it. I have apples and a dehydrator I can squeeze a few moments of time into a little job.
Okay, so I lied! opened the freezer to get the chicken out for dinner and as I was rooting around for it I ran across two bags of dehydrated apples. Gee, I wonder when I did those? maybe last Fall? No idea, so I pulled them out and opened them up. They are fairly thin, but very soft and pliable. I used my apple peeler corer slicer gadget to do them. they are way to uniform for me to have used anything else, So I am guessing whatever size the "auger" cranks them out is a standard gadget that I am pretty sure the size doesn't vary too much from one manufacturer to the next. Maybe 1/4" thick? they dried to almost paper thin. They taste a bit tangy so I am assuming I dipped them in either lemon juice or citric acid to keep them from browning too much.
Hee hee hee....oh Carolyn, you make me laugh. But that was a good posting anyhow because of the info. Thanks for that. Those apple slices look pretty good, I must say. BTW-- I like the new avatar. Monarch?
Thanks S, I dunno on the b'fly... maybe a swallowtail?. but I was supporting a friend going through chemo with a "bald" avatar.. it was as good as I could get for bald. If you look through the available avatars they are a sorry lot of pictures. *gag* on most of them. Those apple slices are tasty which is even better than looking good.
I've dehydrated apples many times and they always seem to turn out fine. 1/4" slices work good for me. I've tried with and without lemon juice. Honestly, I like them better without. My dehydrator has a "fruit" setting (135 degrees farenheit, 58 degrees celsius) so I trust the manufacturer on that. I let them go 10-12 hours or until they reach a pliability that I like. I always read that you're only supposed to use fresh fruit, but I will often dry apples that are way beyond the fresh stage. This prevents me from having to throw them away and they seem to have a sweeter taste. My suggestion is to experiment and find a method that works well for you.
Thanks for your response Eclect. That is the sort of "first-hand" info that I was looking for. It is a good guideline. When I look at the responses to this thread, it appears that not all that many folks dehydrate fruit and veg. I was surprised somehow. Well, actually I just begun this year myself. I got a dehydrator as a cadeau, otherwise I do not know that I would have tried it. I do like eating various dried fruits, but never thought that I would want to do the process myself. I jam fruits and freeze-in enough veg to eat through an entire year as well as cream my own honey; so I actually preserve enough. Now that I have the dehydrator I want to take advantage of it. At any rate, thanks again for your input here.
Hi Hi. I have 4 dehydrators. I have done apples too. I dusted them with cinnamon. Think it took about 5 hours. We don't use them so much but now I would re-hydrate them and bake a pie with them.
Hiya Ware, You reckon that it took five hours to dehydrate your apples. Can you tell me how thick the slices were and at what temp you dehydrated them at please? If you re-hydrate them for baking pies, how long did that take, and did you use plain tap water? The cinnamon was a nice touch.
Peal and core. I use a mandolin to slice the apples to 1/8 or 1/4 inch. I don't dip in lemon. I put the slices in a baggie with cinnamon and a "little" sugar and shake, then put them on the trays. I use a little parchment paper on my trays under the apples. Dehydrate at around 130 degrees. I think the time depends on how many apples you put into it, the amount of trays and weather it has a fan or not. Expect from 5 to 8 hours. I have 3 kinds and they all take different amount of times. You will turn them over the hours. The apples will still be pliable if you are making just dried apples. Keep them in there longer if you want apple chips. If you let them get too dry put the dried apples in a baggie laying on a flat surface and add a fresh slice of apple on wax paper on the dried slices in the bag. Don't let the raw apple touch the dried apples. Seal the baggie. Your dried apples will soften but watch them. Got that???? To re-hydrate them I use half and half, "hot" water and apple juice, just enough to cover the apples. Drain when they are done enough for you. Then you can cook with them. I seal them in a my seal-a-meal bags. I stop my machine just before all the air is out so it doesn't smash the apples. Also the first time I didn't peal them for I believe skin is good for you, potatoes, carrots, apples and the like. That's where the largest food value is and lots of fiber. BUT dehydrated apple skin is yukky. Carrots dehydrate looking horrible but go right into soups wonderfully. They look perfect when cooked even with the skin. My favorite thing to come out of the dehydrator is mushrooms. Carrots with skin. Look horrible but are very good. Mushrooms. I now put them in my seal-a-meal bags. They last forever.
I gottit Ware. My appreciation is boundless. You wrote clearly and was for me very understandable. Also the little details like w/wo skins were good to know. You did answer a question that I was going to ask---do you use sugar with the cinnamon. hahaha. You're like a bloomin' mind-reader. I also appreciated the tip on correcting the job if the slices would be left in too long. Further, the re-hydration info was appreciated as well. This is a good "how-to" posting that you did. I believe that there are more folks on here that will benefit from your more than adequate answer here. You know, I never peel anything either. I like the taste of skins on veg and of course you are right that so much nutrition sits in the skins. I think that most Dutch folks are peelers, but not me! When I eat stuffed baked potato, I eat the skins of those as well, even they are a bit dry and thick...a bit of butter and sauce softens them up for me. Those carrots(?) look like shrimp to me hee hee hee, but the mushrooms ....they look....REALLY good. Chapeau meid. So then, thank you again for the excellent instructions and sharing your experience.
Sjoerd, I dehydrate almost anything. Apples 1/4 inch thick sprinkle with cinnamon and a little sugar. I put them in quart jars and seal them with my seal a meal. Grandkids love them. They eat them right out of the jar like candy. I dehydrated garlic last week and made my own garlic powder.
