How To Dehydrate Apples In The Food Dehydrator – Step By Step
Today we’re going to make dehydrated apples with cinnamon in a food dehydrator. Dehydrated apples are not only healthy for you, but they are also a delicious snack.
Free of preservatives and very portable, apple chips are one of my favorite things to make with my dehydrator. I’ve added a light sprinkle of cinnamon to make them even tastier.
Step By Step Instructions To Dehydrate Apples
In this example, I used Red Delicious apples and my Garden Master Food Dehydrator by Nesco.
Step 1: Wash and dry your apples.
The first thing that you want to do is to wash the apples. I remove the stickers, then use my fruit and vegetable wash to remove any wax, chemicals, and soil.
I primarily do this to remove the wax they apply in the supermarkets to make them look shiny. There is also a little residue left over when you take the sticker off.
After you have finished cleaning your apples, dry them with a paper towel or dishcloth.
Step 2: Slice the apples into even pieces.
The best way to do this is to use an apple corer. Remove the core, then slice the apples into 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness. Try to keep all the slices about the same size to allow for even drying.
You can use a little tape measure for the first cut or two if needed.
If you don’t have an apple core, you can manually remove the core and slice them into half-moon pieces.
- A paring knife works well here, but a larger knife will do.
- Make two cuts on either side of the core.
- Make a connecting cut in the top & bottom.
- The core should snap out.
Just be careful when you’re cutting. 🙂
Tip: Circles or half-moons work better than wedges since the surface area is more even, which is better for dehydrating.
As you are cutting the apples, remove any bruising or brown spots. Then, place them in a bowl to prepare for the next step.
Step 3: Pre-treat your apples.
Use a pre-treatment to prevent discoloration. I am using the bottled lemon juice simply because it’s more convenient.
- Place the apple slices in a bowl.
- Squirt them with lemon juice.
- Toss them for full coverage.
There are also a few different other ways you can pretreat the fruit. Dipping the fruit in apple juice or other acidic juice and steam blanching them for 3 to 5 minutes are two other ways.
Step 4: Add Cinnamon (optional)
Sprinkle the apples with cinnamon powder and toss to coat. I opted for a lighter taste, so only sprinkled it on one side.
Step 5: Arrange the slices in the dehydrator.
Place the pre-treated apples on the dehydrator tray so that they’re not touching each other.
I get about one tray for two apples when sliced smaller and.
The bigger your pieces are, the more room they take up on the trays. Today, I cut half-moon pieces, and three apples fit on two trays. When I use smaller slices, I fit about two apples per tray.
Make sure you leave all trays in the dehydrator, even if they’re not full.
Step 6: Turn on the dehydrator and wait.
Set the timer to 135 degrees. In my Garden master, the temperature is printed on the front for fruits and vegetables.
Turn it on, and they should be ready in about 4 to 8 hours. The exact time will depend on the thickness and spacing of your slices.
Step 7: Test for doneness.
I checked my apples at about 5 1/2 hours, and it looks like everything is just about done.
Remove the lid & press the start-stop button. That will freeze the time, but it will stop blowing so you can check for doneness.
To make sure that your apples are fully dehydrated. Test a few slices of varying thickness.
Tear open one of the apples and look inside. The inside should be dry to the touch. When it isn’t ready, you will see a little bit of moisture on the inside of the Apple.
Example: Thicker piece not quite ready.
When I tested the one thicker piece, it was still just a little moist that one could probably stay in for a little bit longer.
You can also opt to eat the thicker pieces first, which is what I usually do when there are just a couple.
Step 8: Let Your Dehydrated Apples Cool
Once you confirm that everything is dry, take the pieces and set them into a bowl or a dish. Let them cool for about a half-hour. So they are not still warm when you put them in your glass jar.
After they are cool, sit them in an air-tight jar & enjoy!
In Summary
Learning how to dehydrate apples in a food dehydrator is super easy. It takes just about 10 minutes to prep the apples. The rest of the time is just letting your food dehydrator do the work.
