My daughter Charlotte dehydrated apple and Fuyu persimmon slices this weekend and they taste like candy. The fact that any remain at all shows that Covid hasn’t completely extinguished my willpower.
Charlotte dehydrated these to eat but you could decorate with them if you wish, like a replacement for plastic-wrapped candy canes. Make a garland or hang them individually from the Christmas tree with twine. Pluck a few from the branches when you crave a little snack.
Because I no longer buy parchment paper, when dehydrating fruit in the oven (or in a hot car, which I’ve done), I spread the fruit across a cooling rack set on a baking sheet. The air circulating below the slices speeds up the dehydration. You can buy much worse things than parchment paper but when I cut the waste, I had to come up with swaps for the stuff—mother of invention and all that.
Charlotte didn’t core the apples and you don’t notice the core in them at all while eating them (and I ate many of these…to test them of course).
Last-minute gifts
Chop dried fruit tastes delicious in muesli, which Charlotte also made. A jar of homemade muesli makes a splendid gift in my humble, jar-obsessed opinion. Actually, a jar of dried fruit would also make a nice gift. Or you could dip the dried fruit in melted chocolate. Someone please give me a jar of that…
Jars are the little black dress of food. Everything looks good in them. You can fill them with homemade food, or bulk chocolate or simply everyday staples like tea, beans or nuts. The crazy jar lady on your list will go, well, crazy.
Dehydrated Apple or Fuyu Persimmon Slices
Ingredients
- Apples or Fuyu persimmons, unpeeled
Instructions
- Wash and pat fruit dry. Remove the cores from the tops of the persimmons. Cut fruit crosswise into slices a scant ¼-inch thick. Remove seeds from the apples. Fuyu persimmons may or may not have seeds. Remove any.
- Spread the fruit slices on metal cooling racks set on cookie sheets to allow air to circulate around the slices. Dry in the oven at a very low temperature (at least 140°F; our lowest temperature is 170°F). Your fruit may dry out in 3 hours or in 8 hours or longer, depending on the fruit type and oven temperature. Check its progress after 2 hours. If you have prepared several trays of fruit, rotate them in the oven every 2 hours.
- The fruit is ready when it no longer feels sticky and has become leathery. Apples will be more brittle than persimmons and both will still remain somewhat pliable.
- Allow the dehydrated fruit slices to completely cool. Store packed loosely in glass jars at room temperature. For the first week, check the jars for condensation. If you notice any moisture, return the fruit to the oven to dehydrate futher. Moisture can cause mold to develop. Once completely dehydrated, the fruit will keep for up to a year, depending on your kitchen temperature.
Notes
Charlotte’s Muesli
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup chopped dried apples rings or other dried fruit
- 1 cup chopped almonds, toasted see note
- ⅓ cup wheat bran
- ⅓ cup coconut flakes
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Place the ingredients in a large jar, close it and shake it up. Or combine the ingredients in a bowl and then transfer the muesli to a few smaller jars.
- Serve with milk of choice, milk kefir or yogurt. Or make overnight oats by placing about ¾ cup of muesli in a jar with 1 cup milk of choice, milk kefir or yogurt. Store the closed jar in the refrigerator overnight and enjoy for breakfast.
This is what I’m going to do next week while on vacation! Thanks for posting!
My pleasure, Vanessa. Enjoy your week off 🙂
~ Anne-Marie