Pilgrims and Pioneers: Drying Apples

Welcome To Pilgrims and Pioneers!

After many years of researching my family geneaology I have been lucky enough to discover actual information about my relatives that lived in the Pilgrim Era and the Pioneer Era- while many people also have realtives from those eras- many do not know their names or where they lived- actually seeing the proof in print makes you much more aware of who they really were.
After discovering these relatives it of course made me curious to learn more about the eras that they lived in and what their lives were like as, the history I learned in grade school had long since been forgotten.
I decided to start this blog for others who are also interested in these eras.
Some of the information here will be actual facts about my realtives and some will be information about the eras in general that I have found on the web.
I hope you will enjoy traveling back in time with me!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Drying Apples

To prepare apples for drying- peel & core and cut into slices or rings. Any peelings left on will toughen during the drying process Pre treating is necesary toprevent the apples form turning brown.
To preserve dissolve one tablespoon of Ascorbic acid in one quart of cold water. Add cut fruit and soak cut apples for a few minutes. Remove the apples with a slotted spoon and let dry before dehydrating.
Oven drying is the fastest method of drying- set your oven on low- not over 140 degrees- prop the door open and place a fan so that it blows the moisture out of the way.
The fruit is dry when it is soft and pliable but shows no moisture when you cut into the dried fruit. To make sure fruit is dry place it an air thight container for several days. Check daily for condensation on the sides of the container- if it appears you need to dry the apples a little longer.
For best quality and nutrient content use with in 1 year.