One of the most sensible and convenient ways to preserve the harvest of apples and harvest them for the winter is drying. It can be performed in the sun on warm summer days. But it is not difficult to dry apples in a gas or electric oven. This drying method is ideal in urban environments.
Without a doubt, dried fruits will be a great addition to the menu. Sweet compotes and other dishes made from dried apples will delight you with their bright taste and aroma. Dried fruits are useful in preparing salads, sauces, baking pies. They will make an excellent grill for pancakes and pancakes, an addition to soup and even jam.
Dishes made from dried apples will displace autumn boredom and fill the winter cold with pleasant summer memories.
It is easy to store dried fruits, they take up a minimum of space. The labor costs for preparing dried apples are insignificant, especially if you use modern kitchen appliances and appliances.
All varieties of apples are suitable for drying, without exception. But when the choice is large, it is better to give preference to fruits with a small seed capsule and thin skin. The apples should taste sweet and sour and aromatic.
Before drying, the fruit is washed and dried. Wormholes and bruises are removed.
The apples are cut into quarters and the core is cut out. The fruit is cut into slices about half a centimeter thick.
If there is a special device, then with its help the core is removed from the whole apple. Then the fruits are cut into rings of the above thickness.
When dried fruits are prepared exclusively for compote, the core can be left.
The apples are scattered in one layer on a baking sheet. It should be covered with baking paper.
The baking sheet is loaded into the oven for an hour (60 degrees). During this time, the apples will wither slightly.
Then the temperature rises to 70, and at the very end of drying - to 80-100.
The oven door can be left slightly ajar.
The process takes 6 to 12 hours. The apple pieces are mixed every 50 minutes.
You can add cinnamon, cardamom, citric acid and regular sugar to add flavor to the dried fruit.
When the apples reach the desired condition, their size will be greatly reduced. The cooled dried fruits are laid out in fabric or paper bags. Chocolate boxes are also fine.
Dried apples are stored in a dark and cool cabinet, which is periodically ventilated.
Ingredients:
Two kg of apples;
One and a half liters of water;
A glass of sugar (more or less, depending on the level of love for sweets).
Cooking method:
Cooking sugar syrup: boil water and add sugar to your liking. We set it aside for cooling.
Place the washed fruits in a deep bowl and remove the core and seeds in each fruit. To do this simply, you need to stock up on a special device. With its help, apples do not need to be cut.
We cut each fruit into thin rings. We try to keep them approximately the same thickness.
Put the apple circles in a saucepan and fill them with cool sugar syrup. It should completely cover the fruit pieces.
Cover the saucepan and take it to a cool place for a day.
The next day, lay the apple slices on a paper towel and leave them for half an hour to dry.
Cover the baking sheet with baking paper. We spread apple circles on it.
We load it into the oven preheated to 60 degrees. A little later, the temperature can be increased to 100. The fruit should be in the oven for six to eight hours.
Turn the slices periodically.
In the evening, apples turn into dried fruit. We take them out of the oven and put them in bags.
Ingredients:
Apple fruits - 2.5 kg.
Cooking method:
Let's wash the apples under the tap. Cut in half and remove the core with a knife.
Cut into wedges and place on a baking sheet.
Let's put it in the oven.
We turn on the modes of upper and lower heating and a fan. Let's set the temperature to 50 degrees.
We dry the apples for 12 hours. We periodically check their condition.
We store the finished product in a sealed glass jar to prevent moisture ingress.
Ingredients:
One kg of fruit;
0.300 kg of sugar;
One teahouse l. citric acid;
One tsp. cinnamon.
Cooking method:
We clean the fruit from seeds and cut into large slices.
Lay on a baking sheet vertically, peel up. The slices should fit snugly together.
In a deep plate, mix the sweet ingredient, citric acid and cinnamon.
Sprinkle apple pieces with the resulting mixture.
We send it to the oven for three hours (70 degrees).
We take out the apples and lay them on parchment, cover with gauze. We leave for 48 hours at room temperature.
We hide the finished dried apples in candy boxes.
Ingredients:
Two kg of apples;
A small bunch of cherry branches (no leaves).
Cooking method:
Free the fruit from the core and cut it into thin slices.
We lay out the apple slices on a baking sheet.
Place the cherry branches on another baking sheet and place it on the bottom of the oven.
We put apple pieces on the top shelf.
We expose 50 degrees on the electric oven panel. We start the upper and lower heating modes. We also turn on the fan. He puffs up the smoke that comes from the heating cherry branches.
After six hours, we lay the dried apples soaked in the aroma of berries on the table surface. We hide it after they cool down.
Ingredients:
A kilogram of sour apples;
Two tablespoons of ground cloves and cinnamon.
Four tablespoons of sugar.
Cooking method:
Cut the whole apples into thin slices. Do not remove the core and seeds.
We spread the slices on a baking sheet so that there is a small distance between them.
Mix the cloves, cinnamon and sugar in a separate bowl. Sprinkle with apple slices.
We send to the oven for ten minutes (180 degrees).
Turn over, lower the temperature to 100 and cook for another seven minutes.
Turn off the oven. We do not take out the apples.
When the oven has cooled down, heat it up to 100 degrees, leave it for 10 minutes and turn it off again.
We repeat this several times for six hours.
Place the dried apples in paper bags.
Ingredients:
Two kg of apples;
Half a lemon;
1500 ml of water;
One Art. spoonful of ground cinnamon and cardamom.
Cooking method:
Pour water into a container one and a half or two centimeters deep. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into it. Stir.
We release the fruits from the core.
Cut off the apple peel as thin as possible.
We cut the fruit into rings five or six centimeters thick.
We load it into a container with lemon water. After a minute, transfer the apple pieces to a colander.
Place the fruit rings on a baking sheet.
Mix the cinnamon and cardamom. Place in a strainer and sprinkle the top of the apple circles with a thin and even layer.
We send fruits to the oven for 8-10 hours (70 degrees).
Leave the peel on the apples. Then the dried edges of the fruit will be more firm and curly.
Ingredients:
A kilogram of apples;
10 gr. salt;
Four cups of water.
Cooking method:
Prepare the saline solution: pour the salt into the water and stir.
Thoroughly wash the apples and shake off the water.
We remove the core, cut off the skin.
Cut the apples into longitudinal slices five or six millimeters thick.
Pour them into a saline solution. We soak the fruit for about five minutes.
Drain the water and move the apple slices onto a baking sheet.
We send to the oven and dry in the standard way.
Ingredients:
A kilogram of apples;
Water is two liters.
Cooking method:
Prepare two saucepans with the same amount of water.
In one container, bring the liquid to a boil.
Cut clean apples into four parts, then into slices three to four mm thick.
We load the pieces into boiling water for half a minute, then into cold water at the same time.
We take out the fruit and dry it slightly with a paper towel.
We spread the apples on a prepared baking sheet so that each piece lies separately
Dry in the oven in the usual way.
Apple fruits must be processed in portions. It is wise to do so so that the cut pieces do not have time to oxidize and darken. A serving can be considered half a bucket of fruit.
To avoid darkening, apples should be kept in a saline solution (liter of water + a tablespoon of salt) or lemon water (liter of water + juice of half a lemon). Ten seconds will be enough.
It is more convenient to dry apples in an electric oven. If the gas stove does not turn off for several hours, then there is nothing to breathe in the kitchen. True, good ventilation saves the situation.
It is advantageous to dry it in early autumn when cool days come. The heat from the oven will not only do the bulk of the work, but also warm the room comfortably.
It is impossible to pack dried fruits in plastic bags or containers, as there they "suffocate" and become covered with mold.
Apples when properly dried should not be sticky, brown or burnt. Fruit pieces should be firm and not brittle.
A well-organized workplace will speed up and simplify the process. All necessary equipment, including the trash can, must be kept close at hand.
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Dried apples are an alternative to frozen food. During drying, the taste and useful properties of the fruit are better preserved.
They can be used not only for making pies and compotes, but also for snacks.
The quality of dried fruit depends on compliance with the rules of preparation and storage.
The most painstaking work awaits at the preparatory stage. The apples need to be sorted out, processed and cut.
For drying, it is better to choose sour and sweet and sour varieties. Any variety will do, but most often they use Antonovka, Aport, Pobeditel and Slavyanka.
You can also choose sweet varieties. But the taste of such apples will be less pronounced, and the quality of dried fruits is lower.
A wide variety of drying methods allows any housewife to prepare dried fruits for the winter. You can use any household appliances and special devices, or dry the old fashioned way.
It is considered a popular way. However, it is mostly suitable for people who live in a private house or in apartments with balconies, which are located on the sunny side.
In this case, the sun must be bright, and the air temperature must be high, otherwise the apples will simply rot.
Drying time: 4-6 days.
First way:
Second way:
The electric oven is suitable for drying at home at any time of the year. However, it takes more time and effort than similar methods.
Drying time: 6-8 hours.
The advantage of a gas stove over an electric one is that apples dry twice as fast. And there is almost no need to follow them.
Drying time: 2-4 hours.
The fastest way is microwave drying. The main thing is that the household appliance is powerful enough.
Drying time: 4 minutes.
An electric dryer is a special device for drying fruits, berries, vegetables and mushrooms. Typically, the dryer has three temperature settings: low, medium, high.
Drying time: 8 hours.
Drying apples at home in an airfryer is not inferior to other methods, but you need to calculate the time correctly so as not to spoil the workpieces. Also, the slices should not be wider than 3 mm, otherwise they will not completely dry out.
Drying time: 1 hour.
Drying in a slow cooker does not require much effort, but you can only cook a small portion at a time.
Drying time: 40-50 minutes.
By the appearance of the pieces, you can determine readiness. It is important to consider a few details:
Immediately after cooking, put the apples on a flat surface covered with paper and leave for a day in a ventilated area. Then you can start packing.
In the video, an experienced hostess shares a secret on how to dry apples in an electric oven.
Finished apples must be packed in natural fabric bags.
Cellophane bags and containers made of plastic or glass are not suitable for these purposes, since they do not allow oxygen to pass through. As a result, they can begin to "suffocate".
However, instead of fabric bags, you can take paper or cardboard.
The storage area must be dry and cool. High humidity and high temperatures will lead to mold growth. It is also important that the room where the dried fruit is stored is ventilated.
How to dry apples in the oven, many of us probably from childhood. After all, our love for this delicacy is most often associated with childhood memories. Drying allows you to preserve the main nutrients of the fruit, so necessary for us in times of stress and vitamin deficiency. In addition, dried apples are a great alternative to store-bought sweets if you decide to part with a couple of extra pounds.
The fruits, of course, can be dried not only in the oven. However, today this method is the most common. And you can probably guess why ... Gas and electric ovens are equally convenient in this sense, but the convection oven has a special advantage: additional circulation of hot air speeds up the drying process. If under normal conditions it takes up to 8 hours, then convection accelerates it by about a third.
Not every housewife wants to acquire an electric dryer, and using a microwave oven is impractical if you need to dry a lot of apples. Taking out the fragrant slices outside is also not always possible: the weather, which even in the morning was pleasing with the bright baking sun, may change already by lunchtime ... That leaves the good old way - drying apples in the oven! In this version, of course, you can also find cons. For example, in hot weather, you really don't want to have an additional source of heat in your kitchen. But, still, the oven eliminates many of the hassles inherent in outdoor drying.
Much depends on the goals that you are pursuing. If you just need to keep apples from spoilage (in the case of a bountiful harvest), then absolutely everything can be dried! Well, if you want to make a workpiece with an exquisite taste, then take responsibility for the choice of fruits.
According to some culinary experts, the best apple varieties suitable for drying are Pepin, Cinnamon, Aport and sour Antonovka. Of course, you should use your own taste preferences first of all, however, remember - the taste of sweet varieties of apples becomes inexpressive after drying in the oven.
Select medium sized apples. Wash them and wipe dry. Then remove the core with a special tool or any strong tube. It is up to you to peel the fruit from the peel, but if you need to dry a lot of fruit, then the question disappears by itself. It is unlikely that someone will peel several buckets of apples ... By the way, keep in mind that without the core and rind, the fruit will lose moisture and dry out much faster! Apples are usually cut into circles 5 millimeters wide, or into slices.
If you want to keep the apple pulp light, then pre-soak the slices in lemon juice or a weak solution of citric acid (take 5 grams of powder per liter of water). Sugar syrup can be made in the same way if the fruits, in your opinion, are not sweet enough. In this case, sugar should be added to the water based on your own taste preferences.
The process of cooking dried apples in the oven itself is quite simple. Line a baking sheet with baking paper (baking paper) and place the wedges on it so that they do not even touch each other at the edges. First, set the oven temperature to 50 degrees. Gradually bring the heat up to 70-80 degrees. Do not close the oven door tightly, otherwise the dried fruits will not dry out, but will bake! Leave it ajar about 30 centimeters. Remember to turn apples every 60 to 90 minutes. After 6 hours, it will be possible to reduce the heating again to 50 degrees.
Do not overdry apples. After being in the oven, the slices should be flexible and have a pleasant light color.
Fragrant dry apples can be stored in cloth bags (made of linen or cotton), glass jars or even cardboard boxes! The main thing is not to put them in plastic bags. There they mold very quickly. By the way, if you put dried fruits in jars and sprinkle them with a little cinnamon, then they will acquire a delicate and bewitching aroma.
Take your time and effort to dry apples, and the result will surely please you!
Apple is one of the most affordable and healthy fruits. This fruit is mentioned in many ancient legends, fairy tales, myths of the peoples of the world. Nowadays, apple orchards are widespread everywhere, every second fruit tree on Earth is an apple tree. This is no coincidence. An apple is a storehouse of vitamins, trace elements and minerals. It is successfully used in dietetics: with the help of apples, they easily lose weight, and, if necessary, gain weight.
No wonder they say: "One apple in the morning will leave the doctor without work."
In our country, apple orchards grow in all climatic zones. The apple tree is a must-have fruit tree in summer cottages. Many amateur gardeners get bountiful harvests of different varieties of apples.
These fruits are not only good for health, but also have an excellent taste, they are used to make excellent preparations for the winter. Everyone knows: apple jam, jam, preserves, marmalade, various compotes, juices and much more delicious.
One way to preserve apples for future use is to dry the fruit.
Dried apples are a great addition to modern diets. With the right cooking process natural vitamins and microelements are preserved in dried fruits, which are necessary for a modern person to maintain energy and health in the cold and slushy autumn-winter period.
Apple "sushki" - are an excellent "raw material" for the preparation of delicious compotes, fillings for baking, they are used to prepare sauces and gravies. They are excellent substitutes for sweets, chips and snacks.
Dried apples are easy to prepare for the winter at home. Modern housewives for the drying process use a variety of kitchen appliances.
There are many ways to dry fruit:
To get tasty and healthy dried fruits, you should use the following tips:
The most convenient way for a city dweller to dry apples (in the absence of an electric dryer) is in the oven of a gas or electric stove.
Before starting the drying process an electric oven must be heated to seventy or eighty degrees, and gas - warm up over low heat by about forty or fifty degrees.
Then, one must prepare a baking sheet... To do this, lay a sheet of baking paper or parchment on it (carefully, without leaving the edges of the paper sticking out from the baking sheet, otherwise they may catch fire).
Place prepared apple slices or circles in one or a maximum of two layers on a baking sheet and place in a preheated oven. If the oven is large, then you can use two baking sheets, but then during the drying process they need to be reversed several times.
Sliced \u200b\u200bapples can be placed on the wire rack instead of a baking sheet, it is not covered with paper. In this case, the drying process will be faster, and the apple slices will dry evenly from all sides.
Ovens are available with or without convection. Carefully read the instructions for your stove, perhaps you are in luck and you have the convection function.
So, when the apples are put in the oven and juice begins to stand out from them, you need to gradually increase the heating temperature in a gas oven up to sixty or eighty degrees, in an electric oven up to a hundred degrees. To reduce the humidity in the oven, keep the door ajar... If you have a convection oven, you do not need to open the oven.
Apple slicing periodically is necessary stir or shakeso that the wedges do not stick to the baking sheet and dry evenly on all sides. Drying time depends on the thickness of the slices, therefore it varies from six hours to twelve. If the oven is with convection, then the process is halved in time, apples can be cooked in three to five hours.
Properly cooked dried apple slices should remain light golden, elastic, and should not break, crunch and exude juice when bent.
Cooked dried fruits are stored in glass jars, boxes, cloth bags, paper bags. At the bottom of the container, paper is placed under the dried fruits. Glass jars should not be closed with lids, it is better to make "lids" out of paper or fabric so that the fruit breathes.
Vitamins, trace elements and minerals in such apples will last up to ten years.
Not all housewives are able to follow the drying process for six or ten hours. There are some secrets.
Secret # 1
To speed up the process, washed, well-dried, cut into slices or wedges, fruits are dipped in boiling water and boiled for about six minutes. Then the apples are removed and rinsed under running cold water. After the slices have cooled, pat them dry on a paper towel to remove any water. Then, the apples are sent on a baking sheet or wire rack to the oven. The drying process will be halved.
Secret # 2
To speed up the process, the prepared sliced \u200b\u200bapples are kept over steam (it is convenient to use a colander or sieve) for about ten or fifteen minutes, and then washed with a stream of cold water until they cool completely. After that, the apples are dried and placed in the oven.
In addition to the traditional preparation of dried apples, which are used as "raw materials" for the preparation of various desserts, there are recipes for preparing delicacies right in the drying process.
Recipe number 1. "Dessert rings"
Ingredients:
Wash the apples well, peel them and cut them into neat slices about five millimeters thick, put them in a bowl or other container. Pour granulated sugar into a saucepan with water, put on fire, bring to a boil. After the sugar has dissolved, pour over the apples with hot syrup. Leave the container with fruit in a cool place for a day.
Then, the circles soaked in syrup, dry well on a paper towel, put on a baking sheet covered with baking paper, and send to the oven for drying. Dry in the same way as described above.
Recipe number 2 "Dry apple jam"
This is a healthy treat for children and adults. It will successfully replace sweets, candied fruits, marmalade and traditional jam.
Required products:
Apples are washed, peeled from the core and seeds, cut into large slices.
Lay the slices in one layer on a baking sheet, skin side up. In a container, mix granulated sugar, cinnamon and citric acid. Sprinkle the prepared apples with the resulting mixture. Put the baking sheet in the oven, preheated to seventy degrees for about two hours. During this time, the apple slices should be soaked in sugar and spices, bake well and dry out a little.
Then, the apples are removed from the oven, laid out on baking paper and left to air dry. After the apples are thoroughly dry (after about a day), the finished delicacy is folded into paper bags or boxes (you can use candy ones).
So, drying apples, preparing traditional dishes from them is not difficult at all. Even an inexperienced housewife can prepare healthy, very inexpensive delicacies for herself and her family and friends, following the suggested tips and recipes for processing apples. A little patience and everything will work out.
Enjoy your meal!
You want to keep the vitamin set and unique taste of apples even in cold weather. Many owners choose to dry fruit in the oven. In a home kitchen, this can be done in a gas or electric oven. Important conditions for the preparation of healthy dried apple fruits are the correct preparation and processing of the fruits.
Sour varieties are best suited for drying. For example, Antonovka. Oven drying is perceived by many as unnatural. However, in comparison with the traditional method - outdoors - it has its advantages:
Advice. The calculation of the amount of dried fruits is simple: from 10 kg of fresh apples, 1.1 kg of dry apples come out.
Pre-sort the crop, removing spoiled and rotten specimens. Wash the remaining fruits thoroughly in warm water. It is better to do this in a large container so that while washing the apples float in the water. So you will rid the fruit of nitrates and harmful substances that got into them during spraying and other procedures.
Choose ripe but firm apples for drying
Advice. An alternative to blanching is a bath of 1.5% saline solution. Dip the slices into it for a couple of minutes, but in this case, the dried fruits will lose some useful substances. You can also use water with a little vinegar or citric acid.
Prepare one or more baking trays if the harvest is large. They do not have to be iron because of the same danger of rapid oxidation of apples. Better to use a lattice sheet. If you cover it with baking paper or string the apples on a strong thread, then they will not fall off after they decrease in size during drying.
The fruit drying technology is the same for both types of ovens. Fill the entire baking sheet with the sliced \u200b\u200bapples. The rows should be tight, in one layer. Take care of ventilation in advance, because when the oven is turned on for a long time, the kitchen will become stuffy. Correct drying is carried out at a combined temperature of 45 to 90 ° C for 5-8 hours. The process requires attention.
You can dry apples quickly and efficiently in the oven
It can be roughly divided into the following stages:
Advice. For ovens with convection function (built-in fan), it is not necessary to open the door during the initial stages of drying.
At the exit, you should get dried, deformed plates of a yellow, brown or rusty hue. Correct dried fruits do not crumble, although they are quite flexible. Do not throw out overdried brittle pieces either - they can be used in some dishes. All dried fruits should be in the same degree of doneness.
Determine the total drying time by the variety of apples: the harder and more acidic the pulp, the longer it should be in the oven. The condition and power of the oven itself is also important. Housewives in this matter rely on the experience of using their equipment. Proper preparation and drying technology will help preserve the vitamin harvest for the winter.