How to Dehydrate Apples

Apples are among the most popular fruits across the world. They are eaten as part of the main dish, apple pies, applesauce, and also dried apples. Learning how to dehydrate apples is a popular way of preserving them. The main reason for their popularity is that they can be stored for long periods without refrigeration. Dehydrated apples are often eaten as is, or they may be rehydrated with some sort of liquid so that they take on a texture similar to fresh apples.

There are three main ways to dehydrate apples: in the oven, in a dehydrator, and in an air fryer. Dehydrating apples in the oven is straightforward and inexpensive. Dehydrating apples in a dehydrator takes longer than using an oven but can improve the quality of your dried apples and if you want to try a relatively new method you can use an air fryer, especially if you are drying out a small batch.

Preparing Apples for Drying

There are so many varieties of apples that are available in the market that you can choose from. When buying apples, it’s always best to go for the firm and ripe ones. Avoid apples with bruises or brown spots, as they will probably also be bruised on the inside. Press down on the apple gently to check its firmness, avoid any of that are mushy or leave an indent.

Which Apples to Choose

Any apple variety will taste delicious when dehydrated, as long as it is fresh. Now, depending on how you like your dehydrated apples to be, sweet or tart, you can choose from the different varieties accordingly.

Sweet Apples: Most people prefer the dried apples to be sweet, in which case they can opt for Fuji, Gala, or Honeycrisp apples. These apples have a higher sugar content and are usually juicy. However, because of the higher water content, they tend to shrivel up a bit when dried.

Tart Apples: These apples have a lower sugar content and are slightly less juicy, which is why they dehydrate better. You can use Granny Smith or Pink Lady apples in the tart apple category.

To Peel or Not to Peel

Apples don’t necessarily need to be peeled for dehydrating. In fact, the skin adds a texture that is appealing when you snack on them, just like chips. If you plan on rehydrating the apples to use them in desserts or maybe to make applesauce, you might want to peel the apples before drying them.

Suppose you do want to peel apples before dehydrating them. In that case, there are several tools available in the market to peel your apples, ranging from a specialized apple peeler and corer to a simple vegetable peeler that you may already have in your kitchen.

Apple Slices or Discs

The next point of concern is how to cut the apples for dehydrating? Well, once again, it’s totally up to you. You get to decide whether to core or not core the apple, whether to slice it into complete discs or to halve the apples before slicing them.

One of the most important points when dehydrating any kind of fruit or vegetable is cutting the slices evenly to enable them to dehydrate to the same degree. The mandoline is one such tool that will help you in getting these apple slices the same thickness. If you don’t want to use a mandoline, you can just as easily get the apple slices using a nice sharp knife. Just take the time to get the slices evenly cut.

Pre-Treating the Apples

Plenty of times, the apples end up browning when they are cut and left out. The reason for this is oxidation. When the exposed flesh of the apple comes into contact with the air, it causes oxidation which causes the flesh to turn brown and eventually soft and mushy.

There are several tricks to slow down this browning process. Here are some that work best:

Water and Salt

Place all your apple slices into a large bowl. Into this bowl, add enough water to submerge all the slices fully. For every cup of water you add, add ¼ teaspoon of salt. Using clean hands, mix all the apples in this solution properly and soak for 10 minutes. When you are ready to dehydrate the apples, drain the water and give them a quick rinse with fresh water to remove any salt residue.

Water and Lemon Juice

Add all your apple slices to a large bowl and fill with water until they are fully submerged. For every cup of water you add, add two tablespoons of bottled lemon juice. You must use bottled lemon juice since its pH is stable and safer to use. Let the apples soak for 10 minutes and then drain them. Rinse the apple slices with some cold freshwater before using them so that you get rid of any possible lemon flavor.

Water and Citric Acid

Another way to slow down the browning is to use citric acid. For every 2 cups of water, add about ½ teaspoon of citric powder. Stir to dissolve the citric acid, and then add in your apple slices. Let them soak for 10 minutes before you remove them and rinse with cold freshwater.

None of the methods above stop the browning process entirely but will help you slow it down. If, after treating the apple slices, you are not ready to use them immediately, transfer them to an air-tight container or zip lock bag and store them in the refrigerator.

Now that your apples are all prepped, you are ready to dehydrate them.

How to Dehydrate Apples in the Oven

Ovens are a great way to step into the dehydrating world without committing to any fancy equipment.

1. Preheat your oven to the lowest possible temperature. In most ovens, this is 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Pat your apple slices dry to remove excess moisture before placing them on a parchment paper-lined baking tray.
3. When arranging the apple slices on the tray, take care to leave enough space between the slices for the hot air to circulate.
4. Put the tray in the oven. It takes between 1.5 to 3 hours for your apples to be completely dehydrated, depending on how chewy or crispy you want them to be.
5. Since even the lowest oven temperature is slightly higher than we ideally want it to be, leave the door open slightly.
6. When the apples have dried as you want, remove them from the oven and let them cool down to room temperature.

How to Dehydrate Apples in an Air Fryer

Air Fryers are an excellent method to dehydrate a small batch of apples quickly. However, you do need to be extra vigilant when using air fryers for dehydrating.

1. Place your apple slices in the air fryer basket. While you can allow the apple slices to overlap slightly, don’t stack them on top of one another.
2. Set the temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and the timer to 15 minutes and start the process.
3. Every 5 minutes, stir, rotate and flip the apple slices to dehydrate them evenly. Check on the apple slices after 15 minutes, and at this point, they should have dried out significantly.
4. If you want the apples to be extra crispy, turn up the temperature to 330 degrees Fahrenheit and continue dehydrating the apples for another 8 – 10 minutes while checking on them every 5 minutes. 
5. Once your apples have dried and reached your desired level of crispness, remove them from the air-fryer and let them cool to room temperature.

Because air fryers have a significantly smaller capacity, you may have to do the dehydrating process in batches.

How to Dehydrate Apples in a Dehydrator

A dehydrator is the best option to dry any type of fruit or vegetable if you have it because while it takes longer to complete the process, it requires minimum interference from you. You can simply set and forget about your produce.

1. Fan out the apple slices on your dehydrator trays, ensuring they don’t overlap.
2. Place your prepared trays into the dehydrator and set the dehydrator to the recommended setting. In most cases, this would be around 135 degrees Fahrenheit, but it can vary from dehydrator to dehydrator.
3. Your apples may take somewhere between 12 to 16 hours to get dehydrated completely. Try a slice after 10 hours and adjust the time according to the crunchiness you desire.
4. Once the apples are all ready, you can take them out of the dehydrator and let them cool to room temperature.

How to Store Dehydrated Apples

Before you pack up your dehydrated apples and store them in your pantry, you must condition them. Conditioning is the process of balancing the humidity level of your dehydrated produce (apples in our case) throughout the container they are stored in to mitigate the possibility of mold growth.

1. Fill your container jars ⅔ full with the dehydrated apples only after they have cooled completely.
2. Close the lids to the jars and for the first week, shake each jar multiple times throughout the day to distribute the heat and humidity evenly throughout the jar’s contents.
3. If you notice any condensation on the inside of the jars during this week, it means that your apples have not dehydrated enough and still have some moisture within them. In this case, you need to dehydrate the apple slices for some additional time using any of the methods above.
4. If all looks good after the first week, fill your jars to capacity and label and date them before storing them in your pantry.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to rehydrate the dehydrated apple slices?

To rehydrate the apple slices, all you need to do is soak them in some liquid. The proportion to use is simple as well; for every cup of dried apples, use one cup of liquid. You can use apple juice or simply water to rehydrate the apples. Heat the liquid of your choice until it just starts to boil and turn off the heat. Add your apples to the hot liquid so that they soak up the liquid much more quickly. Let the apples soak in the liquid for up to an hour, at the end of which you should have rehydrated apples that you can use in your recipe.

How to tell the apples have dehydrated?

Dried apples will feel dry (obviously) and leathery to touch. You can also try to fold the apple slices to check their doneness. If the folded halves stick together, they need additional time in the dehydrator. Another test you can do is cutting the apple slice in half. If you see any moisture bubbles sizzle out, your apple slices aren’t dry yet.

How long do dehydrated apples last?

Properly dehydrated apples can last up to 12 months. Store the apples in an air-tight container and in a cool and dark place. If you are looking for more extended storage than this, consider freezing the apples.

Conclusion

Now that you know all there is about dehydrating apples, you are ready to dehydrate yourself! The next time you are at your local farmer’s market or grocery store, pick up an extra bag of apples to dehydrate! If you liked this blog post, you might find some of our other drying guides interesting as well!