Dried apples are one of the most useful (and easy) of winter preserves. Its the way to go for apples that are damaged in anyway and wont store well – bird pecks/ bruises/ black spot/ no stalks. Use them up while they’re still good. Our home dried apples are a family favourite. The ones you see here are Captain Kidd’s – they’re something special.
Here’s how
There’s no need to peel apples for drying, but its good to wipe off any bird do’s. Core the apples or not – up to you.
Make a bowl of lemony water up – this stops the apples from browning. 1 litre water + 3 tablespoon of either lemon juice or vinegar.
If you have a mandoline, set it up on top of the lemony water and slice the apples right into it. If not, slice as thinly as you can (about 5mm) and get the apples under water before they brown.
Shake off excess water and lay slices side by side on the trays of the drier. They’ll shrink as they dry so no need to leave big gaps.
Turn the dehydrator off after 6 – 8 hours and once the fruit’s cooled, check for doneness. I often do a second little burst. They can seem dry initially but rehydrate a little as they cool.
Store in sterilised glass jars. Fruit dried this way will easily last 12 months.