Apple harvest
Monday, September 22nd, 2008There aren’t too many apples on the trees this year, and honestly, they’re not the best apples we’ve had. But they’re still perfect for dehydrating and jellies and sauce. I wanted to put something up that I could send to Erik in Iraq, and since glass jars are definitely out, I thought some dried apple rings would fit the bill.
For the first batch of dried apples, I peeled them, then sliced apples about 1/4 inch thick (or slightly thinner) into lemony water. (I microwaved a lemon for a few seconds, chopped it, and squeezed the juice into a bowl with enough water to cover the apples.) I didn’t core the apples, but that’s just a matter of preference–I love the little “star” at the center of the apple. The apple slices went into the dehydrator for about 24 hours, until they were quite dry and leathery. Unfortunately for Erik, the rest of my family thought they were very good, so a second batch is in the dehydrator today (with apple skins left on–very pretty). I’ll hide them as soon as they’re dry, or else I fear that Erik may never get any.
I saved all of the leftover apple peels and ends, and I turned them into a quick jelly. There wasn’t much juice left in all of the trimmings, so I threw it all into the crock pot, covered the peels in an equal amount of water, and set the crock pot to low all day, then gently mashed the pulp, and proceeded as with any regular jelly recipe. I only ended up with three 1/2 pints of jelly, so I’m not sure it was worth the effort, but I’m sure it will be tasty, and it certainly is an economical recipe. There was even some pulp leftover for compost. Not bad!











