Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Something to look forward to


We recently made a fun little purchase from Bed, Bath, and Beyond… a dehydrator. It’s a noisy little bugger but it works just as well as my oven and frees up space. The first thing we tried was apples and banana chips.

I wasn’t quite sure how thick to cut everything, but hey, it’s a learning process! The apples while a little large, are delicately sweet and have a really nice balance being crispy without tasting too dry. I'm looking forward to the fall when I can stock up on small apple varieties and make a batch large enough to share with friends. They make a nice little dessert without being too filling and are yummy on cereal or even in salads.


I added a coating to the apples, but left the bananas raw. I was surprised how long the drying process for fruit actually took. I did venison jerky just the other day and it took much less time, so if you are trying out a dehydrator for the first time I would recommend accounting time for the longest setting your machine recommends. Just so you’re not getting up at 4am like someone I know….

Harvest Apple Chips
Apples, semi peeled and sliced into circles
Lemon juice
Cinnamon
Nutmeg, freshly grated

Combine lemon juice and spices to coat apples with to keep them from browning. Place in dehydrator and bake to your own machine specifications. Turn once during the drying process.
Let cool and store in an air tight container.

No comments: