How To Use Dehydrated Apples

 source: YoTuT

This is the first in a new series focusing on how to use common food storage ingredients.  If you have something that you would like to know more about please let me know. 

Everything You Need to Know about Dehydrated Apples

 There are two main types of dehydrated apples, chips and slices.  They are both good and I personally store both.  I find that they can be used almost interchangeably.  The main differences are the color (apple slices are darker and have the peal attached) and the flavor (chips are sweet and slices are a little tart)

 

The Specs:

Apple Chips  –thin  like  potato  chips,  thinly  slices  no  peel,  great  for  tarts.  Apple chips have a sweet apple taste and are best used for baking, but they do make a nice snack.   

	Makes	Amount	Water	Instructions
Apple Chips	1 c.	1 ½ c.	1 ½ c.	Add boiling water and let set for 15 min.

Apple Chips Cost per serving $0.31

Apple Chips Cost per cup $1.25
*prices based on Fall 2011 prices

Apple Slices  –  organic,  dehydrated  slices  with  peel  (which means more  fiber), the slices are thicker than the apple chips.  When re-hydrated they are brown.  Best used for snacking but can be used for baking.  Apple slices are made from Granny Smith Apples and are a little bit tart.   

	Makes	Amount	Water	Instructions
Apple Slices	1 c.	1 ½ c.	1 ½ c.	Add boiling water and let set for 15 min.

Apple Slices cost per cup $1.31

Apple Slices cost per serving $0.33

*prices based on Fall 2011 prices

My Favorite Dehydrated Apple Recipes:  

• Carmel  Apple Cookies   
• 6 Grain Apple Pancake Bars
• Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies (Clafoutis)

Other Dehydrated Apple Recipes you might like:

 

Apple Crisp from Anissa’s Kitchen

Apple Stack Cake from About.com

Elizabethan Buns Recipe from The Inn at the Crossroads

Apple Scones from Shelf Reliance

Do you store dehydrated apples?  What is your favorite way to cook with dehydrated apples?  

Apfel Strudle--Pastry for dinner these are my kind of people

 Do you store apples in your food storage?  Real fresh apples?  If not it is time to start!  

If you are new to root cellaring produce for the winter, than apples are great places to start.  Everyone likes them and you can make delicious treats out of them.  

 source: GimmeFood :)

 This fall I thought 3 boxes of apples was enough to last my family through the fall and early winter.  We have already eaten through 1 ½ boxes and I haven’t even made any apple sauce.  I guess I’ll need to find more apples to add to my food storage. 

I store my apples in my cold storage but they can also be successfully kept in a garage, root cellar, or any other cool area of your home. 

My sister spent time as a foreign exchange student in Germany.  While she was there the Grandmother of the family made many traditional foods.  Apfel strudel was one of her favorites and she brought this home to share with our family. 

I call it by the German Apfel instead of the English Apple because this is NOT a frosting covered pastry you find at the doughnut counter.  It is a slightly sweet apple filled pastry.  It is served as a main dish along with a green salad and a vegetable it is dinner. 

Over the years one of the major problems we have had when making this has been that all the juices leek out and burn.  

Don’t you hate that?

This year when I told my sister I wanted to make it she said

“Why don’t we add some sour cream powder, I bet that will keep the juices in”

So we tried it and it worked great! Isn't she cleaver?

Apfel Strudel 

Printable Recipe
 
Dough:

2 1/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened

½ cup milk, at room temperature

Filling:

2 tablespoons soft butter

¼ cup sour cream powder

1/8 cup Currants (optional but delicious)

1 cup brown sugar, divided

6 large apples, peeled and sliced

Preheat oven to the lowest temperature about  125 degrees, than turn oven off.

Mix flour and salt, form into a well and add butter and milk.  Mix well until combine.  Knead the dough until elastic, and smooth.  Form into a ball.   Place dough in a greased oven safe bowl.  Allow to rest in the oven for 30 minutes. 

 Remove from the oven.  Divide the dough in half.  Place half the dough on a piece of parchment and roll out.  The dough should be soft and easy to work with.  Roll it until it fills a cookie sheet size piece of parchment.  Spread dough with melted butter.  

Place apples, currents, brown sugar and sour cream powder in a bowl. Toss to combine.   Pile ½ the apple mixture down the center of the dough.

Fold the edges (all 4 edges need to be folded up) of the dough up meeting in the middle.   Brush the crust with melted butter. 

Repeat process with the second half of the dough.

Bake 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.    

Apple Fritters from THRIVE 6 Grain pancake mix

It is fall in Utah.  The nights are cold, the days are lovely (okay yesterday there was some snow), and the trees are starting to turn.  I love it.

One thing that fall always means is apples.  Each fall I make apple sauce, store some apples in the cold storage, and make apple pie filling.  

 photo source:  fotologic

I have my apples but I haven’t started canning them yet.  They are sitting on my kitchen counter, which my kids love.  Having all these apples around has made me think of all the wonderful foods that contain apples.  Pie, strudel, crisp, and fritters.  YUM! apple fritters.

This apple fritter recipe is EASY and delicious.  The batter that surrounds the apple is pancake mix.  Keep reading.  It turns out that this works awesome and is easy.  The pancake mix frys up beautifully and sticks well to the apple.  I especially love using a whole grain pancake mix, it makes the batter substantial.   

Tips for success:

• To test to see if the oil is hot enough for frying.   Drop in one un-popped popcorn kernel.  When the popcorn pops the oil is ready to fry with.  Fish the popped corn out of the oil before starting to fry.
• When frying foods, be very careful.  There is potential for burns from splattering oil, or fire from overheated or spilled oil.
• I sliced my apples into rings using an apple peeler corer slices, but you can chop the apples, or cut them into slices, whatever is easiest for you.
• I used THRIVE 6 grain pancake mix, which is a whole grain complete mix.  Complete meaning it contains all the eggs, milk , and oil, you just add water.  You can use any complete pancake mix.
• Don’t crowd the pan.  Only put as many fritters into your pan as fit comfortably.

Apple Fritters

• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 4 apples, peeled and diced
• 3 ½  cups THRIVE 6 Grain pancake mix, any complete mix
• 1 1/2 cups apple juice or  water
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg,
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions

Heat 1-inch vegetable oil on moderate to medium high heat. To determine if the oil is hot add a few popcorn kernels. When the popcorn pops the oil is hot.  

Prepare apples, wash, core and slice into ¼ inch rings.  

Mix together pancake mix and apple juice or water, season with nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Working in small batches of 5 to 6 slices, coat rings of apple in batter, and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until evenly golden brown. Transfer to paper towel to drain. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

Make Your Own Mix: Apple Pie Filling and Pie Crust

So I heard today that pie is the new cupcake.  I am excited because I love pie.  This is my favorite pie dough recipe.  I find it is easy to work with and taste great.  If you prefer you can switch out the butter flavored Crisco for lard, butter or regular Crisco.  I like the butter flavored Crisco because it makes the crust a nice golden brown color and it gives the crust a slight butter taste.  I don't use butter very often because I have a hard time getting butter the right temperature. It is either to cold or it is to melted.  I really like lard for pie dough but I have a hard time finding a high quality lard on a regular basis. 

This recipe came from a homemaking class my mother attended years ago. I don't know who originally taught the class but I sure love the recipe.

In this pie dough recipe you are instructed to mix the fat into the flour with your fingers.  I love this method it makes great crust. If you are not sure you want to get your hands dirty it is fine to use your pasty blender or a food processor, just know that the dough will be harder to work with.

This apple pie filling recipe is one of my favorite mixes to have on hand.  I know it is not a mix in the traditional way of thinking but for me it is something I can do a head so there will be less work later.  So I count it as a mix.  Apple pie is wonderful to eat but often a little labor intensive for every day use.  Each fall we make a batch or two of this great filling.

Pie Tips

FOOD PROCESSOR PASTRY
This Method   is fast and efficient, but it’s speed needs to be treated with caution. Use 1-2 second pulses rather than letting the machine run. Have all fats ice cold or frozen. Combine the dry ingredients in the food processor; process for 10 seconds. Cut fat into ½” chunks and scatter over dry ingredients. Use pulse bursts until fat is the size of peas. Drizzle ice cold water over top. Pulse until dough begins to clump into small balls. If the dough adheres when squeezed, it is ready to use.

FREEZING
Baked Pie & Tart Shells:  Place on cookie sheet and freeze (don’t wrap). When frozen, wrap or place in freezer bags and return to the freezer. To use, unwrap and heat in moderate oven (375 degrees F.) for 10 minutes. May also thaw unwrapped at room temperature.

Unbaked Pie & Tart Shells:   Freeze dough in the pie pan. When solid, pry it out of pan and freeze. May stack with waxed paper crumpled between crusts for easier separation. Package in freezer bags anad return to freezer. For single crust, unwrap and bake in very hot oven (450 degrees F.) for 5 minutes. Prick crust with fork and continue baking until browned (apx. 15 minutes).  

Storage: The recommended storage time for unbaked pastry is two months. For baked pastry it is 4 to 6 months.


Pie Filling:  When fresh fruit is in season it is a great idea to make a little bit of pie filling to freeze and use later in the year.  My favorite pie filling to freeze is peach.  To freeze fresh pie filling: Line a pie pan with several layers of foil.  Fill with pie filing. Freeze until solid. Pop the frozed filling out the the pan and place in a Zip Lock bag or wrap well with foil.  Label and return to the freezer.  When ready to use make pie crust. Place frozen pie filling in pie crust and bake.


PIES TO FREEZE

Recommended Varieties:    Apple, peach,, blueberry, mince, strawberry, or rhubarb freeze well. Cherry pie may be frozen only after baking.

Unbaked:  Do not make slits in the top crust. After pies are frozen, cover with a second pie plate (protect from crushing). Wrap with moisture proof film and return to the freezer. Use within 2 months.

Baked:  Cool baked pies to room temperature. Wrap with moisture proof film and return to the freezer. Use within 4 months for highest quality.

Thawing:  If frozen unbaked, remove wrapping and make slits in top crust. Bake at 425 degrees F. for 10 minutes, cut vents in top, bake for 20 minutes longer. Reduce heat to 350 and bake until juices bubble and crust is golden brown. If frozen baked, remove wrapping and let thaw. Bake at 350 degrees F. until knife inserted comes out warm (apx. 15 minutes)

Recipe

Heather's Favorite Pie Dough
Makes enough mix to make 6 single pie crusts or 3 double pie crusts


In a shallow bowl place:
6 cups of flour
3 cups of Butter Flavor Crisco
3 tsp salt

Mix together with clean fingers until the mixture resembles corn meal. (At this point you can put the Mix in a zip lock bag or other air tight container and use store until you are ready to use it.)  Or you can use it right away.
Add 1 ½ cups water.  Fold together to form a soft ball of dough.  At this point the dough should look marbled. Divide into 6 sections.  Roll out one section into a large circle.  Hold pie pan over circle to make sure the dough is about 2 inches larger then the pie pan.  Place dough in pie pan. Fill with pie filling.  Roll out another circle and place on top.  Seal and crimp edges. I find it easiest to crimp the edges if you first tuck the dough that is hanging over the edge of the pie pan under so you have a mound of dough to crimp. 

Bake Unfilled Pie shells for 8-10 minutes at 350.
Bake filled double crust pies for 1 hour at 350.



Bottled Apple Pie  Filling--This really does set up into  a slice-able pie if you let it cool, we can never wait that long so it is a little runny looking in the photo.

Peal apples; slice and put into quart bottles, about 6 or 7.  Pour syrup over apple.

Syrup:
10 cups water
4-½ cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1-cup cornstarch
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt

Bring to a bubbling boil; add 3 tablespoons lemon juice plus 3 drops of yellow food coloring.

Seal and process 20 minutes.