Keeping the Apple Peeler/Corer in Place

My kids love dried apples. Vet2Be, who has braces, can eat them easier than he can eat regular apples. I dehydrate a lot of apples. One of our daughters loves them so much she ate 10 dehydrated apples in 24... more than once!

Here's my set up for using my peeler/corer/slicer.

I place 4 layers of non-slip shelf liner under my clamp-style apple peeler so that it stays steady on the counter. The suction cup style wasn't available when I bought my peeler many years ago. The bucket in the background holds all the peels and cores to take out to the goats.

I use a honey dip to pre-treat my apples because my kids like it. Honey dip adds calories, makes the apples a little sweeter, and helps the apples retain a fresher color when dried.

Honey Dip
Boil 1 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 cup sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Add 1/2 cup honey when the sugar is dissolved.

Dip the apples in the mixture and let them sit for 3-5 minutes. Remove the apples, drain, and place on dryer racks. I usually place my racks in the sink and place the apples on the racks so the apples can drain right into the sink.

I always leave the bottom tray empty but lined with the plastic fruit leather tray liner so that I don't have any liquid that might drip get into the motor of the dehydrator. I'm sure lining the bottom tray with plastic wrap would work, too.

I dehydrate my apples in my American Harvester dehydrator at 145F. They take anywhere from 6-10 hours depending on the size and type of apples.

You can tell when the apples are done if they are still pliable but the sides don't stick together when you fold an apple slice in half.

I don't condition my apples because they are usually eaten within a few days. If you dehydrate a lot of apples for long term storage it is a good idea to condition them.

Conditioning is when you place the cooled fruit loosely in a sealed container and let it stand for 7 to 10 days, shaking it gently once a day. This allows the moisture to move from thicker, moister pieces to thinner drier pieces. If you see condensation on the inside of the container, return the fruit to the dryer for another few hours (unless the fruit is shows signs of spoilage or mold, in which case, throw it out!)

Here is a great reference for dehydrating foods "Dry it, You'll Like It"

Vegetable Bouillon~Part 2

I decided that I would try drying the bouillon because I was sure I wouldn't be able to use it quickly enough if I left it in the fridge.

Here is a link to my original post on Vegetable Bouillon.

I sprayed the silicone mat with olive oil so that the mushy stuff wouldn't stick when I tried to take it off.

Here is the green goop spread on the silicone mat in the dryer.

I wasn't sure there would be enough airflow around the vegetable bouillon, so I put another tray on top of the mat.

I started the dehydrator and had the temperature set on the lowest setting. I didn't really want to cook the vegetables. But after about 12 hours there was no change... it was still mushy, not even the surface was dry.

So I turned up the heat to the highest setting. It still took another 36 hours for it to completely dry. Maybe next time I will spread it thinner and start with high heat.

Here it is broken and put in the blender before I powder it.

All powdered! About 3 cups of wet vegetable bouillon fits into an old yeast jar, which holds about 1/2 cup (I think).

It smells really good! And I like that I don't have to store it in the refrigerator or the freezer. It tasted great in the meat pie last week (before dehydrating), now I'm tempted to try sprinkling it on some chicken before Hubby grills it.

Got some suggestions on how to use it? I'd love to hear them. I made the bouillon because I thought it looked like a neat thing to do, not because I know what to do with it now that I've got it. Weird, I know, but it keeps life interesting!

Tomatoes and More Tomatoes

Sheepy's Dad has lots and lots of tomatoes. The agreement is that I will dry as many as humanly possible and she gets half. What a great deal for me!!

Here are the 4 boxes that got it started.

I found out that if I spray the trays with non-stick cooking spray the tomatoes release easily and I don't have to wash the trays as often between batches.

The first 9 trays. Hubby had another 20 trays at work, which he brought home a few days later when another 4 bushels of tomatoes were dropped off. It takes me about 40 minutes to wash, slice, and fill 15 trays!

I love this dehydrator! It will handle up to 30 trays, although I don't put more than 15 on at a time. Hubby has two bases at work, so I have two dehydrators going almost all the time. It takes between 18-24 hours to dry one batch of tomatoes. 

Dehydrating tomatoes is so much easier on me than bottling them. I get to work for a few hours and then the dehydrator does the rest. I don't have to babysit the canner or worry about jars breaking. All I do is slice and stack!

So, what am I planning on doing with all these tomatoes? I made my first batch of lasagna last week. I blended the tomatoes in my blender until they were a powder, added water, garlic, onion powder, and salt to make the sauce. I was very tomato-y flavored. If I had let the sauce simmer on the stove, I'm sure it would have mellowed the flavor a bit.

Here's a link to Diane Hopkins blog post about V8 Powder: although I have only dried tomatoes, the idea is the same. At the end of her post are two great tables that show how much tomato powder to mix with water to make tomato paste, tomato sauce, tomato juice, or stewed tomatoes.

I've lost count of how many bags of tomatoes I've sealed. These are the two that are ready to head to the storage room.

I am sealing my tomatoes as they come out of the dehydrator, not powdering them first. That way if I want stewed tomatoes I can crumble the tomatoes a little and just add hot water.