… with Limited Storage Room?

This year we had a very large apple crop. The Gravenstein trees were especially fruitful and produced so many baskets full of apples, we now find it hard to store them all. Besides they are not keepers. Three months after the harvest they become all mushy and pulpy. So we decided to dry them and turn them into delicious apple rings, which have a flavor ten times more intense and keep for a very long time without refrigeration.

Boxes and baskets full of Gravenstein apples are waiting to be dried.

To process the apples you need only two things: an old-fashioned apple peeler and a good quality dehydrator. The former is truly a technical marvel going back at least a hundred years and in conjunction with its built-in slicer needs no further improvement.In less than 10 seconds you can peel and slice an apple. The dehydrator (we are using is The American Harvest model) comes with four trays. To fill them all up you need about a dozen mid-sized apples. After 7 to 8 hours of drying in the dehydrator the apple rings have shrunk, so all fit into a small freezer bag. During this time a tantalizing aroma is permeates our entire home. In the end the apples rings turn out to be a gourmet’s delight, full of vitamins and nutritional value. And they are also greatly reduced in weight and size. The photo story below shows how easy it is to do it .

Collect twelve to fifteen mid-sized apples.

This machine can peel and slice the apples in less than 10 seconds.

The apple sits firmly attached to the prongs. Now turn the crank.

With just a few turns we are half way through the apple.

Now take the sliced and pealed apple off the prongs and …

… gently place the apple rings on the tray. All four trays are now filled.

..

Then put the lid on the trays and set the correct temperature and duration.

Twelve apples or more fit into a small freezer bag. It is easy. Even children can do it.