Enjoy that sweet, fresh fall taste any time.
Best Apples for Dehydrating
The best apples for dehydrating don’t need much embellishment.
They’relower in sugarand thus have a sharper flavor and hold their shapes well.
Photo:Carson Downing, Props: Lexi Juhl, Food: Kelsey Moylan
These will shrink up a bit, but their higher sugar content will concentrate their flavor.
To avoid this, you’ll want to have an acidic pre-treatment bath at the ready.
Stir your acidic ingredient and water together in a large bowl.
Carson Downing, Props: Lexi Juhl, Food: Kelsey Moylan
Soak apple slices in acid bath
Add the apple slices to your pre-treatment bath.
After 10 minutes of soaking, drain the apple slices into a colander.
If youused citric acid, give the slices a rinse.
Carson Downing, Props: Lexi Juhl, Food: Kelsey Moylan
Dry and prepare apples for dehydrating
Assemble your apples for dehydrating.
If you’re seasoning your apple chips, add your spice of choice now.
Do not let the apple slices touch, if possible, and don’t stack them.
Carson Downing, Props: Lexi Juhl, Food: Kelsey Moylan
The only exception is if you’re using an air fryer.
When finished, skip to finishing dehydrating apples, below.
If so, the slices need a little more time.
Carson Downing, Props: Lexi Juhl, Food: Kelsey Moylan
Rotate, flip, and stir the slices every five minutes to help your apples dehydrate more evenly.
They’ll appear shriveled and even a bit soggy, but will get crunchier as they cool.
ensure to watch your fryer carefully and increase the frequency of your flipping and shaking.
Carson Downing, Props: Lexi Juhl, Food: Kelsey Moylan
Do it every minute or so at this stage.
When finished, skip to finishing dehydrating apples, below.
Lower the dehydrator’s heat
Bring the dehydrator down to 135F and let it do its job!
Carson Downing, Props: Lexi Juhl, Food: Kelsey Moylan
This no-supervision appliance will take about 12 hours to complete the process.
Then, place them in airtight packagingpreferably a glass jarin a dark location right away.
If any condensation builds up, give them another run in your appliance of choice.
Best of all, they can be rehydrated easily for like-fresh use.
Lemon juice, vinegar, or citric acid all help keep the fruit light in color.
If your dehydrated apples are lacking crispiness or crunch, it’s likely the apple was sliced too thickly.
The ideal thickness for sliced apples to dehydrate is less than 1/2-inch thick.
