Dehydrating Sliced Apples-Cost

On my list for using up our Michigan apples was to try my hand at dehydrating apple slices into chips. I found an improved source of information for how to do so effectively at Seasonal Chef.

It takes about one small-medium apple to fill each jar with chips. (I used two larger Golden Delicious and two smaller Jonagold.) However, I'm warning you, they don't last long. My jars lasted about a week with Paul and his folks hanging around. I'm not complaining at all. After all, you cook for people to eat, and I still believe the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. But, you may find it's a lot of work for such short-lived pleasure.

A few additional ideas to add to the Seasonal Chef: I soaked the apple slices in ascorbic acid crystals dissolved in water as I was cutting them to prevent the color change. I used Fruit Fresh throughout the apple preservation process and was never disappointed. Also, I put a piece of saran wrap over each dehydrator tray. I promise it will not interfere with the dehydrating process, and it is so much easier to remove the chips from the rack when they're done. Two jars/apples were sprinkled with cinnamon before dehydration. The other two were left plain. Dehydration lasted overnight on medium-low in the dehydrator. The plus side is that the only effort on the cook's part is to peel, core, and slice the apples. If you've got the time to wait on the dehydrator, then it's an easy--if not fast--way to make a healthy snack.

The cost of such an adventure is estimated at $2.92--$0.14 for a tsp. of the Fruit Fresh, plus another $0.05 for the cinnamon and $2.72 for the apples. That's $0.49 a jar! Naturally as with the apple crisp, you can make this much cheaper by taking advantage of apple sales or you can make this recipe more expensive by acquiring rare and higher-priced apples. Any way you slice it (pun intended) this is also a pretty economical snack, too.

Would you like to know what we're eating next?