Crop Growing Guidelines

 

 

 

Apple trees

Preserving apples when they are inexpensive and plentiful in the fall is a perfect way to have local healthy fruit all year long. Canning and freezing are good preserving options, but drying apples is a perfect solution for someone who is new at preserving and wants an easy, low-energy solution for food preservation.

To prepare apples for dehydrating, they should be washed well, sliced thinly, and cored. This can be done many ways, including completely by hand, using a tube apple corer, using a push down apple slicer/corer that will cut the apples into wedges that can be sliced thinly, or using a crank model apple peeler/corer/slicer. I prefer the crank model, since it can process many apples very quickly and produces thin consistent slices every time. They commonly sell for about $20, but I found mine at a rummage sale for $.75. I do think they're worth it at full retail price though, so if you can't find a deal, treat yourself to one from the mall.

The apples can be peeled or left with the peel on, according to preference. The slices should to 1/8 to ¼ of an inch thick, and consistently the same thickness to produce the best results when drying. The slices can be spritzed lightly with lemon juice or put into an ascorbic acid (vitamin C) solution to prevent browning, but the brown color that results when this isn't done is just the result of the apple oxidizing as it dries and does not effect taste or texture or food safety.

An electric food dehydrator will make the process of making dried apple rings the most simple. Very simple ones are affordable, and can be had for as little as $30. These less expensive models are fun for dehydrating a few things at a time, but they do take a while, and since the fan is generally on the bottom or the top of the unit, the trays will have to be switched often. The apples should be placed on the trays, evenly, with none of them lying on top of each other, and the dehydrator run until the apples are dry and leathery and no longer sticky. They can be dried until their crisp if an “apple chip” texture is desired.

Apples can be dried on trays outside in the sun as well. They should be place where the air can flow around them, and covered with cheese cloth or another loosely woven cloth to keep bugs, flies and bird off of them. At night, the trays have to be brought inside to keep the dew and nighttime moisture from re-hydrating and spoiling the apple slices. They will take a few days to dry in this way.

Using your car as a dehydrator is another fine choice. During the day, when parked in the sun, cars get very warm, and are a good environment for dehydrating. The trays of apple slices can be balanced in the back seat or back window, and the car windows should be left open a crack so that air can flow around the trays. Precautions such as laying newspaper out on the seats will protect the upholstery from juice or stickiness.

Apple rings can also be strung along dowels and hung in a dry, warm place in the house as well. Over the stove, or a heating vent, or in the furnace room may be good areas to try for this method. In this case as well, the apples should be draped with cheese cloth to protect them from dust and bugs while they are drying.

Dehydrating is an ancient and very effective way of preserving foods, and dried apples can be stored for extended periods of time. They should be kept in airtight containers, away from light and moisture. By drying apples, a family will have local, inexpensive fruit available all year, with no need to pay extra for tasteless cold storage apples at the grocery store. Drying apples is fun and rewarding, will save money, and can help enforce a family's values of eating and buying locally, and supporting local growers.