How to Know When Dehydrated Apples Are Done

Moisture in your dehydrated apples can ruin them.

When you dehydrate or dry fruit, the first way to check if the drying process is complete is to simply squeeze the fruit and see if any moisture is expelled. However, because dehydrated apples can be difficult to squeeze, this basic test for dryness does not work as well as it does for other kinds of fruit. Therefore, checking dehydrated apples for dryness requires a different approach.

Things You'll Need

• Knife
• Airtight glass jar

Instructions

1. Take several apple slices from a batch of recently dehydrated apples. Let them cool for an hour.

2. Cut these pieces in half and check for any visible moisture.

3. Bend one of the apple slices in half. If it sticks to itself, the dehydration process is incomplete.

4. Place the dehydrated apple pieces in an airtight glass jar and store in a cool, dark place at 60 degrees.

5. Check the glass jar after several hours to see if any moisture has formed on the inside of the glass. If so, the dehydration process is incomplete.

Tips & Warnings

• If the dehydration process is incomplete, return the entire batch of apples into the dehydrator.

• If you check for dryness and your sampling of apple slices passes all of the above tests, store your entire batch in airtight glass jars. Continue to monitor those jars every week for moisture buildup.

• If too much moisture builds up inside of your airtight storage containers, mold can grow on your dehydrated apples.

References

• University of California: Apples: Safe Methods to Store, Preserve, and Enjoy