Sally's GF3 thread

[U_Stormcrow]

Score, poach, peel, right?

 

[Sally PB]

Score, poach, peel, right?

Yes, same as for tomatoes.

And they are just as slippery when peeled!

 

[Sally PB]

This guy/gal was spying on me in the green house.

 

[saysfaa]

Thankfully, none of us mind the apple skins at all.

I agree about peach skins, though. I ended up peeling them (with a knife - I like that much better than the blanching/poaching method). Then tried drying the peels too. I found them eatable but only just barely.

 

[Sally PB]

Then tried drying the peels too. I found them eatable but only just barely.

To me, the fuzz is...

Well, I know what my dog is thinking when she gets grass stuck on her tongue. Mmnyah mmnyah.

Thankfully, none of us mind the apple skins at all.

What kind of apple?

 

[Iluveggers]

I’ve never dried apples! Do you have to put anything on them before drying or just throw the slices in the dehydrator?

 

[Sally PB]

I’ve never dried apples! Do you have to put anything on them before drying or just throw the slices in the dehydrator?

You can treat them with ascorbic acid, or (yuck) sulphur to keep them from turning brown, but I never do.

Peel, slice, arrange on the trays. 125 F for 10-18 hours, depending on how thickly you sliced them. I like thick slices, so it's a long time for mine.

I need to go swap my trays around and rotate them front to back. Then another 5-8 hours. Probably close to 20, all told.

 

[saysfaa]

This year, I did a few of my own apples. They are unnamed volunteer seedlings. I think they all descend from an apple core someone tossed as they worked the fields. The two original trees were full grown as early as I can remember. They are many hundreds of feet from tbe nearest road and there has never been an orchard there. Possibly, one of the original trees is a seedling of the other. I have no idea what variety they came from.

Mostly, I dried Honeycrisps (a bushel and a half, so far).

And apples that came from the same trees as Sweet Tangos but can't be sold under that name because the copyright agreement allows only better grade. The ones I bought have skin blemishes or unpollinated quarters, maybe the size or color isn't to spec.

I like all of them. Dh much prefers the Honeycrisp.

 

[saysfaa]

I’ve never dried apples! Do you have to put anything on them before drying or just throw the slices in the dehydrator?

I wash them, quarter them, cut the core out, then slice them thin. I don't try to get them really even in thickness. And place them on the dehydrator trays. One dehydrator doesn't have controls. They other is set at 135F because that is what the label on it it recommends for fruit. When the apples are done, they go into mason jars. Or ziplock bags if I have the canning jars full. I don't add anything at any point of the process.

I flip them after a while (maybe an hour or two or three - it partly depends on whether or not I have fresh slices on the bottom tray. Flipping them is a bit time consuming but it has three advantages: the slices don't stick to the trays, they end up closer together so I can fit more into the dryer, and any that are done faster than others can easily be identified and taken out.

I don't mind that some get dried more than I like but I want them out as soon as possible so I can get more started.

It takes about three to six or eight hours for any given slice to be done. It depends on how thick the slice is and where in the dehydrators it starts. I move the trays down as I empty the lower trays. And one of the dehydrators dries noticeably faster the center than around the outside of any tray.

 

[Sally PB]

Flipping them is a bit time consuming but it has three advantages: the slices don't stick to the trays, they end up closer together so I can fit more into the dryer, and any that are done faster than others can easily be identified and taken out.

I flip banana pieces when I do them. They glue themselves to the tray, and the bottom doesn't dry as well if I don't.

I haven't done bananas in a long time. Hubby hates the smell. He needs to go on vacation and I need to find some marked down bananas at the same time. Meijer used to have reduced price produce. Not anymore. I think -- hope! -- it all goes to a food pantry and does not get thrown out.