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Post by janinco on Feb 17, 2023 13:55:00 GMT
My one living aunt will be 94 in a couple weeks. She loves dried apples so I try to send her a bunch of them a couple times a year. She lives in California and produce there is so high. You would think close to the place of origin they would be less expensive, but no. One large pepper was 6 dollars when we visited her. Anyway, apples aren't a main crop for them, either. I've been doing a batch every day from apples we grew and some I got from doing my mobile pantry. Our girls also like them for snacks, taking for class parties, etc. Can't get enough of them! I'm doing a batch every day. I'll also use the rest of the apples in our fridge from this past fall to make apple butter.
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Post by ohiodreamer on Feb 17, 2023 19:11:03 GMT
Dried apples were a staple here when my kids were young. We were in the car a lot, so it was a great snack for them. Now my DD is preg with her first, she had apples about "to go". She gave them to me for the chickens, I handed them back and said dry them. It was a light bulb moment for her, lol. She dried them!
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Post by Wendy on Mar 4, 2023 3:18:22 GMT
Ok, I just got a dehydrator. Tell me how you do apples??
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Post by mogal on Mar 4, 2023 4:13:38 GMT
Wendy, you can peel the apples or leave the peels on. I peel them because the finished product seems to be somewhat bitter with them still on. I have a gizmo that clamps onto a table that will peel, core and slice a firm apple in seconds. It isn't actually sliced, but more like a fruity "Slinky" toy so I cut down one side to make rings and place them on the trays. I save the cores and peels to make apple scrap vinegar or cook them down to make juice or apple sauce. As soon as I fill a tray, I put it into the dehydrator to start the process and it seems to help reduce browning. You can use citric acid water or lemon water to prevent browning as well. Normally, mine are only a light tan when finished. Dry until the slices will snap. Put them into a large tightly covered bowl like Tupperware or a large glass jar with a good lid for a few days to "condition." If any moisture collects in the bowl, put the slices back on the trays and dry more. I set my dehydrator to 125o to dry the fruit but keeps it from case hardening as it would at higher temps. Case hardening is when the surface dries so quickly that internal moisture can't escape but the exterior appears dry.
Have fun with your new toy.
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Post by dustawaits on Mar 4, 2023 19:13:34 GMT
My one time Mennonite neighbors had black cars. They sliced the apples and put the on screens. The screens were put in the cars from dash to seat. They had the windows rolled up and the car parked in the sun The apples dried nicely with no insects to bother.
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Post by grannyg on Mar 7, 2023 2:45:21 GMT
MMMMMMmmmmm....apple snits...yummy...make good fried pies...
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