Apples in our country widespread and loved by everyone. Practically on each summer cottage there are several trees of different varieties of apple trees growing.
There are many abandoned gardens, where apple trees are already considered wild, although the fruits are very tasty. People who know the location of the gardens, always collect good harvest.
Apples have gained popularity not only for their taste, but also for their usefulness: they contain many vitamins and mineralsnecessary to maintain human health.
Advantages and disadvantages of the method
Big yields of apples make them accessible to all segments of the population. People try to eat them not only fresh, but also to prepare as much as possible for the winter: they make jam, jams, compotes. However, when cooked, apples lose most of their vitamins. If you want to preserve the beneficial properties, it is better to harvest apples in the form of drying. Drying has many advantages:
- Not used when harvesting preservatives, apples are not exposed to high temperatures. Due to this, the drying is saved most vitamins.
- Dried fruits can stored a long time.
- Drying is easy and does not require a lot of space for storage compared to preservation.
- In the presence of modern kitchen equipment, the preparatory stage for drying will take minimum of time and effort.
There are many ways to dry apples. Modern housewives often use stoves, electric dryers, ovens. And yet the method of drying fruits in open areas has been used for more than one century due to its simplicity and accessibility.
Is it possible to dry apples in the sun? Harvesting dried fruits in the open air is convenient in those regions where summer is hot and dry. Autumn should also be pampered with sunny days and high enough air temperature so that housewives can dry late apple varieties.
disadvantages drying apples in the open air:
- need to protect drying apples from flies;
- need hide at night drying: at this time, the humidity is higher, dew falls in the morning, and apples can disappear;
- if the weather suddenly changes and it will rain, the process will have to be interrupted and finally dried apples at home.
Fundamental rules
Apples in preparation for drying, it is desirable to process not all at once, but divide into portions (about half a bucket).
To have time to do all the necessary procedures before the sliced lobules oxidize and darken. It is necessary to select ripe, preferably intact apples
Will consider fundamental rules drying apples on the street (for example, in the country):
- For drying in the street you need to choose the right varieties: Parmen winter gold, Montuaner, Rennet Orleans, Rosemary, Renet Simerenko, Antonovka, Aport, Pepin. All these varieties of apples are autumnal and have a sweet-sour taste. Unlike sweet summer apples, when drying autumn varieties, more dry flesh remains and the taste of dried fruits is more pronounced.
- Apples need rinse thoroughly and wipe dry, so that excess moisture does not delay the drying time.
- If the apples are purchased, and you know that they were processed several times chemicalsit is best to remove the peel from the fruit. In homemade apples, the peel is better not to cut, if only it is not hard. It is believed that it contains many vitamins.
- Next, the apples are removed core. The most convenient way to do this is with a sharp-edged tube. If it is not there, then the apple is divided into four parts and the inedible part is removed with a knife.
- Cut apples with a slicer or a knife into slices, no thicker than 1 cm.
- To save light shade pulp apples, sliced slices incubated for several minutes in saline (100 g of salt dissolved in a bucket of water).
- Processed apple slices are laid out in one layer on baking sheets or nets.
- Top apple slices covered several layers of gauze, in order to at least partially protect future dried fruit from flies and dust.
- Every day you need all the slices turn over.
At this stage, the preparatory work for drying the apples is completed. Now you need to decide where it is better to place the baking sheets to the most delicious and healthy dried fruits.
Ways
How to dry apples on the street or in the country. Consider a few ways.
In the sun
How to dry apples in the sun? If you put baking trays with apples under direct sunlight, then drying apples in the sun will take from four to six days.
After that, baking need to hold for a few days in a dry ventilated room until final drying.
No matter how hot the weather, baking sheets are necessary for the night clean up. Since the humidity of the air at night significantly increases, all the drying can go down the drain.
On hot days, apple slices quickly turn into drying, however, intense sunshine destroy some vitamins and organic compounds.
In the shadow
Apples can be dried in the shade, it will take much longer time, however, the resulting drying will be more usefulthan the one that dried in the sun. The baking sheets can be put in the shade only on very hot summer days, when the humidity is low and the temperature is high.
In the bath
What to do with autumn varieties of apples? The sun shines, but no longer warms, and the humidity of the air is already large. If you have a bath at the dacha, then you can not only steam in it, but also dry the apples, while enjoying their aroma.
How is the drying of apples in the steam room? The most convenient way is to lay apples sliced into slices. on a metal grid or strung on a strong thread. Attach the finished structure to the ceiling, closer to the stove. Bath must be sunk 3-4 hours, so that all this time the temperature does not fall below 90 degrees.
Then the stove can no longer be heated, the bath will gradually cool, and in the meantime the drying will be dried.
Ready drying is desirable to hold for several more days. in a dry well ventilated area.
The main thing that the bath was hot and dry.
If you constantly splash water on the stones, then humidity will rise to 80% and under such conditions it will not be possible to dry the apples.
Dried out or not?
Recommendations regarding the number of days required for drying apples are relative. It all depends on the temperature and humidity of the air, as well as on the variety: summer apples dry faster than autumn varieties. So how do you understand ready to dry or not?
If the peel on apple slices darkenedand the flesh stopped sticking, the drying is quite ready. You can even additionally check readiness by pressing your finger firmly on the flesh: if under the finger it is will not spread to the sidesit means that the apples are already dry enough.
Dried apple slices must remain soft and curvedotherwise they are overdried. AT dried apples are less vitamins and nutrients.
Drying color does not indicate its readiness. Summer apple varieties are obtained lighter, winter - darker. The color of the pulp becomes lighter if at the preparatory stage the apples were treated in saline.
How to store dried fruits?
Properly prepared drying is only half the battle. She still needs save before winterso that it does not become covered with mold, was not eaten by mice and insects. How to store dried apples? In this simple case there are some nuances:
- Drying should be stored in places where it does not penetrate. sunlight.
Drying should be kept regularly ventilated room. Otherwise, the drying may be damp and moldy.- It is advisable to store drying use wooden boxes, wicker baskets and glass jars. Categorically it is impossible to use knotted cellophane bags for storage: drying without air will stick together and become covered in moisture.
- All storage tanks for drying must top close tightly. Otherwise, your blanks eat and mice and insects. At the bottom of the container is advised to put wax paper: it will absorb excess moisture.
Drying should be kept regularly ventilated room. Otherwise, the drying may be damp and moldy.Read our articles on how to store dried apples at home, and how to protect dried fruits from apple moth.
Drying apples is a simple process requiring a minimum amount financial investments. If you do it right, then dried apples will always delight you with their aroma and taste on cold winter days, will help to diversify the table compotes, pies.
