Popular methods for drying apples

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Dried fruits are indispensable for the winter for compotes. Most often, housewives choose apples for drying at home. They are rich in vitamins, which are almost completely preserved during processing. Dried fruits are well stored, and the process itself does not require much labor. You can dry apples in the oven, in the sun, in an electric dryer and even in a multicooker.

Content

Variety selection
Preparation for drying
Treatment
The ways
On open air
In the oven
In an electric dryer
On the airfryer
In the microwave
In a multicooker
Signs of readiness
Storage rules and shelf life
Measures for the appearance of insects

Popular methods for drying apples

Variety selection

The fruits of not all apple trees are suitable for this. Preferably large and medium-sized apples with a thin skin and a small seed capsule are dried. This choice is due to the small amount of waste in the process of preparing the fruit and resulting in the largest amount of finished product.

The best varieties for home drying are Antonovka, Aport, Anis, Borovik, Slavyanka and Pepin.

When choosing apples for home drying, you should give preference to the fruits of trees belonging to the autumn sweet-sour varieties, which are distinguished by their increased dry matter content. Compared to sweet varieties, after drying, they do not lose their pronounced taste.

This does not exclude the possibility of cooking for winter and summer varieties, as well as carrion, but in these cases, a product with a lower quality is obtained.

Preparation for drying

When preparing apples for the drying process, it is worth considering a number of basic nuances:

choose only ripe fruits, do not use unripe ones;
fruits are not processed all at once, but in small portions, approximately ½ a bucket, which prevents them from darkening during the oxidation process;
does not allow cut apples to oxidize and retains their light color salt solution;
before laying for drying, fruits must be washed and wiped, removing excess moisture;
it is convenient to remove the core with a special device - a tube with sharp edges, if you do this process manually, then first the fruit is cut into quarters and then the inedible parts are removed from each;
when cooking apples exclusively for fruit compote, you can not remove the middle;
if possible, do not remove the peel. it contains the largest amount of nutrients, it is necessary to remove it when it has mechanical damage;
cutting is done with a knife, apple slider or using a cutting machine so that the thickness of the pieces is up to 5 mm.

Treatment

Chopped fresh apples can be processed to preserve color so they do not darken, as well as to protect against insect infestation and to extend the shelf life of the finished product.

To do this, use:

saline solution. Chopped apple pieces keep for 4-5 minutes. in saline solution with a concentration of 1% (10 g per 1 liter of water);
sulfurous acid. The apples are placed for 3 minutes. in an aqueous solution of sulfurous acid with a concentration of 0.2% (1 g per 1 liter of water).

The ways

There are several ways to dry apples, and each housewife chooses the most convenient for herself.

On open air

Drying apples in the sun is the easiest method to stock up on dried fruits for the winter. It is especially popular among residents of the southern regions, where there is always hot summer, turning into warm autumn.

This method is more suitable for summer varieties that are harvested before autumn and have time to wither, while there are still enough sunny days and no heavy rains. The advantages of drying apples in the sun are unlimited space and the fact that they dry the entire crop at a time.

Technology includes:

preliminary cutting of apples into slices or circles;
placing fruit on baking sheets, plywood sheets, mesh, wire racks and other flat surfaces;
turning the slices daily to avoid rotting.

Apples can be dried in the sun

You can dry in the open air chopped apples, strung on threads and hung so that they do not come into contact with anything. Such a homemade device requires one condition to be met - protecting the crop from insects. For this purpose, the fruit is covered with gauze.

When drying an apple crop in the open air, it is unacceptable to get moisture on it. Subject to all conditions, dried fruits will be ready in 3-4 days in the bright sun and in 7-8 days in the shade.

In the oven

Most housewives prefer to dry fruits in an electric oven, laying out the fruits cut into thin slices in an even layer on a wire rack or baking sheet lined with parchment. The required temperature is 70-75 °. During the cooking process, the oven door is opened slightly, leaving a small gap for air circulation.

For full readiness, it takes about 7 hours. In this case, in 5 hours, a large proportion of moisture from the fruits evaporates. A couple of hours before the end of drying, the temperature is reduced to 50 °. From time to time, it is required to turn dried fruits over so that they do not burn.

After turning off the oven, it is better to leave the dried fruits in it for another 2-3 hours.

In an electric dryer

An electric dryer is a special device that allows you to quickly and efficiently dry fruits in an apartment without spending any effort. For laying in the dryer, apples are cut up to 5 mm thick, spread out in an even layer and set to the desired temperature.

Depending on the model and country of production, the electric drying process takes from 2 to 7 hours. This method has a number of advantages: the fruits do not burn, they do not need to be turned over, they are not damaged by insects, they retain their original shape.

Instrument models

Each housewife chooses an electric dryer taking into account the purposes of use. Many models are designed for drying different types of food. But there are those that can only be used for one of their types.

On the airfryer

Instead of an electric dryer, some housewives use an airfryer, reducing the cooking process to 2 hours. The heating temperature is 100 °. You need to lay out the apple slices at a distance from each other, because because of their contact, the cooking process will take longer.

In the microwave

You can speed up the process of harvesting fruits if you use a microwave: it takes less time, and the result is no less high-quality. In this quick DIY method of making dried apple chips, the most important thing is the right power and timing. It is better to dry fruits in the microwave in 2 stages

first, the fruits are cut and spread on a plate in one layer, setting the timer for 30-40 seconds. at a power of 250 W;
then the pieces are turned over, the timer is set for 3 minutes, and the power is set at 300 watts.

Only ripe fruits can be dried

Usually this time is enough for the fruits to dry, but if they are not ready, they are dried for 0.5 minutes.

In a multicooker

A multicooker in the "Baking" mode is suitable for quick home drying of apples in the apartment. Cooking time - 25 min. Cut the fruit into pieces.

Signs of readiness

Determining when fresh fruits have dried is easy in appearance and texture. Finished dried fruits become pale, their peel darkens, the pulp loses its characteristic stickiness and becomes slightly crunchy on top, but retains a soft and elastic structure. At the same time, well prepared, they should not be very brown and burnt.

Summer apple varieties dry faster than winter ones.

The readiness of dried fruits will also show a simple pressure on them with a finger: when there is no dent on the pulp from pressing, this means that the product is ready.

Storage rules and shelf life

Dried dried fruits are stored in a canvas bag or cotton pillowcase. Some housewives also use paper bags and cardboard boxes. Do not store dried fruits in polyethylene and plastic, because in such containers, air access to the fruits is limited, which is why they begin to mold.

The necessary conditions for storing dried fruits at home are a darkened place and no moisture.

A well-dried product is stored without loss of taste and is suitable for consumption for 3 years. In summer varieties, this period is slightly shorter; it is recommended to keep them separately and use them in the first place.

Measures for the appearance of insects

Stacked dried apple chips are periodically inspected for insects and mold. With improper preparation or subsequent violation of storage conditions, bugs and moths often appear in them.

If mold has started in the bags or traces of pests are found during an external examination:

slices with insect eggs are thrown away;
the undamaged parts are again dried in the oven for 0.5 h at a temperature of 65 ° or use another drying method.