Dehydrated fruit can be used in so many ways. I use mine in trail mixes, quick breads, oatmeal, pies and even tea. Unlike dried fruit in the store, it’s not fried (like banana slices) has no additional sugar. I hear all the time people say dehydrated fruit has too much sugar, when really it’s the same fruit they would’ve eaten fresh, minus the moisture.
Apples are a favorite for dehydrating, especially now I put some up in diced form. I’ve always done slices, but the diced apples make it easier to put in tea bags and breads. I have a Cuisinart food processor with a dicing tool, which makes quicker work of dicing apples. After keeping them in an anti-browning solution as I prep, I dust the apples with cinnamon and throw them on dehydrating trays. It’s easy, and you have a fun put-up for the year until next fall rolls around.
First, peel and dice your apples. I use this apple peeler.
There are some other dicing contraptions out there, but I use my Cuisinart.
As I do these in batches, I keep the apples in cold water with citric acid, or lemon juice.
Dust with cinnamon, keeping in mind the fruit will shrink concentrating the flavor, so don’t overdo it. Put on trays and dehydrate at 125 until dry, but still has a give.
This is before:
This is after:
Dehydrated apples still have some give even when dry, and I guess it’s the spongy nature of apples. While 2021 wasn’t the best year for apples, I couldn’t let it go by without having these little morsels in my cupboard to keep me tied over until next fall.
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