Delicious Dried Apples

Dried apples are an awesomely easy and useful preserve for using up all the apples with bird pecks/ bruises/ black spot that wont store well. Home dried fruit is nothing like the rubbery, preservative dipped things you buy. Flavour bombs! Especially if you are growing heritage varieties.

Dry pears and persimmons in this same way.

Here's how:

Set your dehydrator to low.
There's no need to peel nor core - I quite like the pips in the middle!

• Make a bowl of lemony water up - 1 litre water + 3 tablespoon of either lemon juice or vinegar. This will stop the apples browning.
• If you have a mandoline, set it up on top of the lemony water and slice the apples right into it. If not, slice as thinly as you can (about 5mm).
• Shake the water off as you take the slices from bowl to dehydrator tray. Make the most of the tray and cosy them up together cos they'll shrink as they dry.
• Turn the dehydrator off after 6 - 8 hours and once the fruit's cooled, check for doneness. I often do a second little burst. They can seem dry initially but rehydrate a little as they cool.

Store in sterilised glass jars. As long as the fruit is properly dry, it will easily last 12 months.