dehydrating apples

“I started a batch of Macintosh last night and they still aren't done. They are tasty and chewy, but I think that they need to dry longer. How did yours come out, those of you that asked?”

“I have not done any in the dehydrator yet. Years ago I dried some by threading them onto a thread and hanging them up in a dry winter apartment. It took a long time (made the place smell like apples for a couple of weeks), and they never did dry to the point of being crunchy. They held up well after being put into ziploc bags.”

“Mine are kind of beige too, so maybe I needed a little more lemon juice. But they are not nasty looking or anything.

Do other people dry them chewy or crisp?”

“Yeah the smell is the best part. Maybe I'll run the dehydrator all autumn.”

“My intention was to dry them until they were still chewy. But I left them in just a little too long and wound up with apple chips on the last batch. The best success I have had has been with Geo's method. I hang them in the pantry on a string covered with a cheese cloth net and it works pretty well.”

“The ones I did turned colors: tan, then darker tan. The color is irrelevant I was told at the time. The flavor was a lot less than normal apples, but there was some flavor. I knew it wasn't naugahide, but it wasn't a fresh-picked Virginia apple either.”

“But did it have all the nutritional value of a fresh apple, at a small fraction of the weight?”

“I don't know about the nutrition. But mine have a nice burst of flavor. Maybe you used a different kind of apple, Geo?”

“Try dipping apples in orange or pineapple juice before dehydrating them. The ascorbic acid (vitamin C) will help prevent browning of the apples. From what I've read, apples are supposed to come out a little leathery and chewy, and in my experiences I've found this to be the case. Good stuff!”

“FWIW I dry Granny Smith's. They don't need to be dipped in anything (I think that is just for apppearance?).
I dry them to the point where they're just still flexible.

I love the taste of these. It's like a blast of apple!”

“I'll be buying a whole lot of apples this weekend - some to slice and dehydrate, some to make into applesauce! Yum! Thanks for the tips.”

“I've just recently discovered gala apples. VERY delicous! Haven't dried out any yet, but I eat one each day for my afternoon snack and am kicking myself for never knowingly trying them before. I'll probably dry some out next week or the next, before we HIKE MAINE!!!!”

“I picked some gala apples this weekend but they are at the end of their time on the trees. There are so many kinds of apples. The orchard I go to has like 22 varieties, and dozens of trees of each. Some of the trees are so big and sprawling. I must have been a orchardist in a previous life, because I love trees.”

“how thick did you cut them?”

“I cut mine about 1/4 inch thick slices.”

“Galas are great, also try fujis. Criterions are the best if you can get them. The delicious, red or gold, are flavorless by comparison and have a bitter peel. Dried to a soft texture is good enough for preserving but I like the crispy to be used as a trail snack. Try lightly sprinkling them with cinnamon or nutmeg or a combination of these before drying. Dried pears are the best, like candy. Peaches are good too.”

“I've not heard of criterions. The macintosh I picked don't look like the small ones found at the grocery store. They look a lot like red delicious except that they are crisper and more tart.

Fuji look a lot like Gala, I think. They had some apples called Liberty and Freedom that I had never heard of before but were pretty good. I was going to try some Jonagold but I didn't make it that far. Next time.”

“Good idea about sprinkling with cinnamon, mtngal! Thanks! I'm going to do that next time.”

“I used to dry about 100 tons of apples a day (me and about 40 other people who worked for the fruit dehydation company). I worked in the lab, and in QC at the 5 plants of the company. For slices, we sliced them about3/8 inch thick, and blew 170 degree hot air over them. 23% moisture was the target, and at that moisture the slices are flexible and leathery. Any more moisture than that, and they could mold in the wetter areas. The norm was to spray them with a sulphur solution. With no sulphur spray or citric acid dip they will turn brown, to varying degrees depending on the variety.

With no sulphur or other preservative, you want to get them to more like 14% moisture or less. At that moisture, they are stiffer, but still somewhat bendy. At about 8%, they are getting pretty stiff. At 4% or less, they snap like styrofoam when you bend them. You get them to 4% by using vacuum ovens. I don't think you can get them that dry using hot air. At 4%, they pick up moisture from the air, and unless carefully bagged, are soon up to 6 or 8%, where they will stay without picking up more moisture.

The moisture level is important for storage. If the moisture is 14% or less, with no wet spots, the water activity is so low that bacteria can't grow. The sugars and acids of the fruit actually sucks water out of bacteria and kills it. Yeast and mold are more tolerant of low water activity, but they can't grow at below 14% moisture.

One of the best thinks I've ever tasted is freshly squeezed apple juice running from the press of frozen apples. Yummy!”

“Wow, now that is what I call an expert in dehydrating fruit! Thanks Idaho Bob. Any suggestions as to the best tasting apple varieties for dehydrating?”

“I think apples are one of the best foods around. Gala are by far the best, closley followed by fugi.”

“We dried mostly red and golden delicicious, but that was mostly because our source of apples was the local (Eastern Washington) fruit growing industry, and they mostly grew delicious for the fresh apple market. Delicious are great for keeping firm in storage, but they are far surpassed in flavor by good Macs, Johathans, Granny Smiths, Galas, Fujis, and just about anything else. I'd take a good MacIntosh or Rome dried apple for snacking. Goldens make for the prettiest vacuum dried slices or chips, if you want them in a bag like chips. Goldens are sweet, Macs and Jonathon are more tart. Grannies are tart and sweet. Romes are very good, but have red veins in the flesh that doesn't help their sales for use in pies. Most of the 23% stuff we made was for the baking industry, and went into pies. Delicious in pies is fine, because you dump in a lot of other seasonings to make it come out the way you want anyway, like cinnamon, sugar, etc.

I have a good crop on my backyard apple tree, so I'll be drhydrating soon. I have a dryer I made, which is about 3'x 3'x 5', and has about 12 big trays, each of which holds as much as a wimpy countertop drier. Happy drying!!”