A couple of weekend ago we went apple picking with some of our friends at Marker Miller Orchards out near Winchester VA. We picked a half bushel, which is in the neighborhood of 50-60 apples. I’ve had a lot of fun in the kitchen making various things ranging from a Wheat Berry, Apple and Dried Cranberry Salad to Apple Pies, but we still have a ton left. Being someone who hates to waste food, I had to come up with another plan for all these apples.
I’ve had a dehydrator for about two years now but I have never used it. Why? Frankly I was scared because I didn’t know how to use it, and I get a little weirded out by appliances I have to let run for hours on end. Though, I decided to conquer my dehydrator fear and give it a shot.
I can’t believe how easy it was to use. The first step is to clean and slice your produce into equal size pieces. Since I was working with a fruit that browns when exposed to oxygen, it was recommended that I do a pre-treatment. So I tossed the apple slices with the juice of one lemon. Place the slices on the dehydrator trays (I have 4), the slices can touch each other but shouldn’t overlap. Stack the trays, put the dehydrator lid on, turn it to the temperature recommended by your unit, and just let it go.
For me, it took 9 apples to fill up the 4 trays of my dehydrator and it ran for about 4.5 hours until they were done. Now they can be packaged and frozen for later consumption.
Look how great they look!
What have you had success dehydrating?
I’ve never used a dehydrator before, so I have nothing to offer on that topic, but I’m intrigued by the mention of the apple and dried cranberry salad. Recipe, please?
Wow Ingrid, you are going to make me use my brain here and try to remember what I did. This is a rough estimate of the recipe I made.
Wheat Berry Salad with Apples and Dried Cranberries
1 cup of wheat berries
1 apple, cored and chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Some chopped mint
Some crumbled feta cheese (I think)
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T olive oil
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cook the wheat berries, transfer to a large bowl and allow them to cool completely. Add the apple, cranberries, mint, and feta(?). Whisk the remaining ingredients together in a separate bowl and then pour over the wheat berry mixture. Toss to combine. I do remember adding a little bit of pomegranate juice as I thought it needed some more liquid to soften the cranberries.
Thanks, Kristen! It sounds wonderful, and like something I should actually be able to manage.
Dehydrating! What a great idea. I scored a 1/2 bushel of apples at the farmers market last week and I have SO MANY APPLES! I have a dehydrator that I most recently used to make onion bread. I think I’ll drag it out for the apples now! Thanks for the idea.
You have to send me the recipe for the onion bread. I’ve been wanting to play with the dehydrator more now that I know how easy it is.