Using Dried Apples for Cooking, Snacks and Storage

Using Dried Apples for Cooking, Snacks and Storage

Dried apples are great for food storage because they can be eaten as a healthy snack, they can be rehydrated for use in pies or other apple dishes, and rehydrated apples can also be blended up to make applesauce. 

Dried Apples are a Convenient Healthy Snack

Dried apples can be stored for years, they are easy to carry in a ziplock bag or other similar package and are not messy You can use dehydrated apples in trail mixes or eat them by themselves. Their convenience makes them ideal foods to take on road trips and hiking and they taste great.

Using Dried Apples in Recipes

If you need apples in a recipe, use approximately one-half the measurement called for in the recipe of dried apples.  Add the original amount called for of boiling water over the dehydrated apples and let them stand until rehydrated.  For example, if your recipe calls for two cups of apples, you would use one cup of dehydrated apples and two cups of boiling water.  Once rehydrated, the apples will have more volume and you may need to adjust the amount of apples used  to get the proper amount required by the recipe.  The apples will be ready to use in your recipe.

Making Applesauce From Dried Apples

This is an easy way to make fresh applesauce from stored apples - it is much simpler than peeling, coring, and slicing up a bunch of apples!  First, rehydrate your apples as directed in the previous section on Using Dried Apples in Recipes.  Then put your rehydrated apple mixture in your blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  add any additional fruits or other flavors to experiment with different apple sauces.  Different varieties of apples will make very different tasting apple sauces.

Dried apples can be obtained at many retailers, preparedness supply stores, or you can even dehydrate your own apples at home using a food dehydrator.  

Making Your Own Dried Apples in a Food Dehydrator

There are many brands of food dehydrators available, one of the more popular brands are the Nesco American Harvest and Snack Master Food Dehydrators linked to the right.  Once you have a food dehydrator you can dry many different items in it.  

To dry apples, you simple core them and slice them into thin wedges, approximately between and eight and quarter inch thick; lay them out on the dehydrator trays and dry them until they are no longer moist. Your dehydrator manual will provide more specific instructions and additional ideas such as homemade fruit leathers and jerky.