Apple is the most valuable product in terms of its properties and taste, which contains a whole range of vitamins - A, B (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9), C, E, H, K, PP and many trace elements - iron and zinc , potassium and calcium, phosphorus, copper and magnesium.

All benefits are easily perceived by the human body when eating fresh apple fruits in the summer and dried fruits made from them in the winter. But not every housewife knows how to dry apples in the oven correctly so that they retain their unique qualities one hundred percent.

Selection and preparation of apples for drying

Before proceeding directly to the process of drying apples, regardless of the method - in the fresh air, in a gas oven, microwave, electric oven and so on, it is necessary to sort the most suitable fruits and process them correctly.

Apples are selected according to the following criteria:

  1. Fruits of the 1st category - collected from the branches and not having any defects. They are ideal for preparing beautiful, smooth and equally sized dried fruits.
  2. Fruits of the 2nd category - collected from branches or from the ground, having minor peel damage: traces from branches or a dent from a blow when falling. They are also suitable for drying in the winter.
  3. Fruits of category 3 - a scavenger with small holes from worms and other injuries. It is not very right to make dried fruits from such fruits, but if there is no choice, then it is quite acceptable. The main thing is to carefully trim all defects, leaving only the untouched part of the fetus.

Preparation of fruits for drying includes the following steps:

  1. Apples must be washed thoroughly.
  2. Next, carefully cut out all the defects.
  3. Peel the fruit.
  4. Cut them into circles or slices.

At first glance, the preparation process looks quite simple, but there are subtleties here:

  1. It is not necessary to peel the apple peel, as it contains the largest amount of vitamins. If apples are harvested for compote, then unpeeled dried fruits, and even the core, will do. But when preparing a product for charlotte, jelly or jam, the peel should be cleaned, since it will spoil the whole taste with its rigidity.
  2. You can cut apples in circles with a thickness of 0.5 centimeters or slices up to 0.7 centimeters. Too thick parts do not have time to dry in time, and too thin parts turn into rubber.
  3. When slicing fruits, it is advisable to try to make the slices as identical as possible so that they are dried at the same time, and subsequently there are no problems with a lack of drying of some, and drying of others.
  4. So that the slices do not darken from contact with air (iron is oxidized), they must be held in a solution of citric acid (2 g per liter) for several minutes.
  5. Drying apples takes from 5 to 10 hours, which depends on their variety (stiff and sour dried for longer).

How to Dry Apples in an Electric Oven

After the slices are prepared, the process of drying them begins, which always takes quite a long time. You can dry apples in an electric oven.

This is done as follows:

  1. Put prepared slices on a wire shelf covered with permanent paper (the drying process will go much faster on the wire shelf than on the baking sheet).
  2. Preheat the electric oven to 40-50 degrees and fan the wedges at this temperature for a while.
  3. Raise the temperature to 80-90 degrees and dry the apples for several hours.
  4. Closer to the preparedness of dried fruits, lower the temperature again to 50 degrees so that the pieces do not burn.
  5. Alternate both modes, as well as temperature - low, medium, low.
  6. Check the preparedness of dried fruits by the method of "by eye": all slices must be flexible and elastic.

In convection oven

The practice of selfless housewives shows that it is much more efficient to dry apples in a convection oven. For information, convection is an even distribution of hot air in the interior of the oven through the built-in fan.

Step-by-step instruction:

  1. Put the washed and sliced ​​apples in one layer on a wire rack and place in a convection oven preheated to 50 degrees.
  2. Wait 1.5 hours and flip the pieces.
  3. Raise the temperature in the oven to 75 degrees.
  4. Wait from one hour to two, depending on the rate of evaporation of water from specific varieties.
  5. Reduce the temperature again to 50 degrees and hold the future dried fruits for about 2 more hours.
  6. Check for readiness - turn off the heat and let the apples cool.

Alternatively, you can use a different drying method (in a cabinet without convection):

  1. Dry the apple slices for 60 minutes in an electric oven heated to 60 degrees.
  2. Raise the temperature to 75 degrees, mix the slices, and leave the door ajar (alternative to the fan).
  3. When the dried fruits become close to ready, raise the temperature to 95-100 degrees and hold them for another 20 or 30 minutes (the door still needs to be ajar).

With this method, the cold air entering the cabinet from the outside will act as a fan and distribute the hot air evenly throughout the entire interior, which will ensure quick and high-quality drying of apple slices.

Apple chips with sugar

Using any oven, you can not only dry fruits for the winter, but also cook amazingly delicious and, most importantly, healthy goodies from apples. For example, chips with sugar, which are uniquely loved by both adults and children.

Ingredients:

  • apples - quantity as desired (for 4 servings 5 ​​or 6 pieces go).
  • powdered sugar - 1 sachet.
  • cinnamon - on the palate (optional).

Cooking method:

  1. Cut clean apples (better than the average size) into the thinnest translucent circles (you don’t need to peel, but remove the core as desired).
  2. Put future chips on a baking sheet previously covered with parchment.
  3. Set the minimum temperature in the oven and place the sheet with the workpiece in it.
  4. Cook the chips for 90–120 minutes, depending on the oven itself.
  5. Constantly control the degree of drying of the product and turn it over so that it does not burn.
  6. Cool the chips, sprinkle them with powdered sugar and cinnamon.
  7. Store the finished treat in a cloth bag. Polyethylene is contraindicated since the chips are damp.

Dried apples in a gas oven on a baking sheet

You can cook excellent dried fruits from apples in the oven of a gas stove, and not just in an electric cabinet.

This is done simply:

  1. Cut the finished apples into slices of approximately equal size with a thickness of not more than 1 centimeter.
  2. Soak the slices in a solution of citric acid or salt (to get rid of darkening) and dry with napkins. Pieces can also be blanched for a couple of minutes in boiling water.
  3. Lay out future dried fruits in a thin layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  4. Heat the oven to 70 degrees and place a blank sheet in it.
  5. Dry the apples for 2 or 3 hours.
  6. Reduce the temperature by 20 degrees (up to 50).
  7. Hold the apples until ready \. when dried fruits bend easily and do not crack.
  8. Approximately every 1.5–2 hours, the slices need to be turned over.

The option of drying rings

As mentioned above, apples can be cut into slices of any shape, but always of medium thickness. Fruit rings, which are perfect as a preparation for fragrant compote and for a delicious pie, look most beautiful. Cutting them is harder than regular slices, but only a bit.

This is done in the following way:

  1. Select healthy and beautiful medium-sized fruits without damage.
  2. Take a sharp knife and cut the apple into slices.
  3. Cut the core with the tip of a knife.

You can dry apple rings using any of the methods described above.

How to store dried apples

Dried apples should be stored in a dark place and in a cool place. Putting them in polyethylene is highly discouraged, since in this case they will quickly mold. Ideal would be a package of fabric bags in a suspended state in a periodically ventilated dark room. Optimum conditions - storage in the pantry in clean ribbed wooden crates, cardboard boxes or paper bags.

 

Apples have so many useful properties that you won’t remember all at once. They increase hemoglobin, strengthen the heart, remove toxins from the body, cleanse tooth enamel, increase immunity, and are also a hypoallergenic product and so on.

To maintain healthy apples should be eaten not only in the summer, but also in winter, and therefore it is so important to learn how to save them for yourself and loved ones in the form of dried fruits.

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