# Apple dehydrating



## cpiano (Aug 7, 2012)

Last week, DH's mom died and we were sharing old stories as the family. One of the ways DH's grandmother dried apples was placing them on screen doors, covering with cloth and putting them on top of the tin roof of the shed.

My question. How well would this work. I'm thinking that it got really hot on that roof in Alabama. I have read that you can dry the outside and not get the inside really dry. Is that really a concern or do you just leave them outside until they are SUPER dried. Anybody know?


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

I've never dried them outside but the inside being damp would shorten the shelf life of the apples. If they were dried in the fall when it starts getting cooler, the cool weather would tend to extend the shelf life.

In times past when they would not need to be stored for years at a time, the semi dry fruit stored in cool weather would likely have been the way it was done.

Sounds to me like the GM was pretty smart.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Soon as I bought this dehyrater the food went up.So now I have a cadilac of a dehydrater sitting picking up dust.This year our garden did'nt do well either.


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## Lake Windsong (Nov 27, 2009)

cpiano said:


> Last week, DH's mom died and we were sharing old stories as the family. One of the ways DH's grandmother dried apples was placing them on screen doors, covering with cloth and putting them on top of the tin roof of the shed.
> 
> My question. How well would this work. I'm thinking that it got really hot on that roof in Alabama. I have read that you can dry the outside and not get the inside really dry. Is that really a concern or do you just leave them outside until they are SUPER dried. Anybody know?


We do peaches and apples this way for the winter. Dashboard of a vehicle works well, but we have a double screen homemade contraption that we use with cheesecloth. We store them in canning jars in a cabinet. Not sure about shelf life, they never last more than a few months around here.


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## Lake Windsong (Nov 27, 2009)

To answer the 'how dry' question, we leave ours out till they are super dry. Helps to bring them in over night to avoid dew. Also, you can put your oven on the lowest setting with the door cracked open and dry them.


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

Yes it works. You need to bring them inside at night (dew) or if it looks like rain. It helps to put a screen or cheesecloth over the top to keep the flies off a bit. 
Super dried stores better than soft-dried. They get crispy, but not so hard they are hard to eat dry. Kinda like styrofoam-crunchy.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Meerkat said:


> Soon as I bought this dehyrater the food went up.So now I have a cadilac of a dehydrater sitting picking up dust.This year our garden did'nt do well either.


No need to let the dehydrator gather dust, this time of year potatoes and sweet potatoes go on sale fairly often. They dehydrate fairly well and are pretty good when cooked up.

You can even dehydrate canned vegetables that go on sale. If you have plenty of space for canned goods dehydrating the veggies may be an over kill but most do dry very well.


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## LilRedHen (Aug 28, 2011)

I can remember my mother drying apples on a tin roof of a low out building. She spread out an old sheet on the roof, and put the apples on the sheet. I don't remember if she covered them or not, but it was a big production and one of her sisters came to help for a few days. The apples were brought in for the night before the dew set in. When they were dry, they were stored in a homemade cloth bag with a drawstring and hung from the ceiling of another outbuilding so the mice would not get them. They didn't last till the next year.


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## Theriot (Aug 17, 2012)

Not sure I would even want to try this. I love my phone.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Theriot said:


> Not sure I would even want to try this. I love my phone.


:lolsmash: Honestly, that one took me a while...


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## Ezmerelda (Oct 17, 2010)

*Best tasting apples for dehydrating: Opinions?*

Ok, all you dehydrators, which type of apple is the tastiest when dried. I have the opportunity to buy by the bushel and want to pick a variety that will be super tasty and not too tart when dried.

thank you in advance for your suggestions~


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

Ezmerelda said:


> Ok, all you dehydrators, which type of apple is the tastiest when dried. I have the opportunity to buy by the bushel and want to pick a variety that will be super tasty and not too tart when dried.
> 
> thank you in advance for your suggestions~


Well I know one of our trees is amazing BUT it was here when I came and I have no idea what it is. Not a common variety.

They dry perfectly white without dipping or spraying and have a brittle crunchy texture, so sweet. I intend putting 58 (one row) of them in the big orchard next year.

Not much help, sorry.


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## Topmom (Feb 16, 2012)

Ezmerelda said:


> Ok, all you dehydrators, which type of apple is the tastiest when dried. I have the opportunity to buy by the bushel and want to pick a variety that will be super tasty and not too tart when dried.
> 
> thank you in advance for your suggestions~


I just dried a half bushel of Jonagold and a half bushel of Mutzy......like the Jonagold much better.


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## 21601mom (Jan 15, 2013)

I've dried Fuji, Gala and Staymans. I like Fuji's the best, then Gala's.


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## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

Crab apples are awesome


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