{"title":"How to Dehydrate Apples","canonicalUrl":"https://www.showmestepbystep.com/cooking/how-to-dehydrate-apples","category":{"slug":"cooking","name":"Cooking"},"creator":{"name":"Carol - Thrifty Chic Housewife","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJS9bUbJRIchoZc2-ZXWL1w","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zqhj01tngx8"},"tldr":"Learn how to dehydrate apples into sweet, crisp apple chips. Core, slice, soak, and dry at 135 degrees. A simple beginner snack that stores for months.","totalDurationSeconds":491,"difficulty":"easy","tools":["food dehydrator","mandoline slicer","apple corer","sharp knife","mixing bowls","colander"],"materials":["apples","lemon juice","cinnamon"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Wash and Core the Apples","text":"Start by rinsing your apples under cool water. Then run each one through an apple corer to pop the core straight out. Carol likes a sweet variety since the sugars concentrate as the apples dry, so the chips end up tasting almost like candy. Work through your whole batch before you move on to slicing. Doing all the coring at once keeps things moving."},{"number":2,"title":"Slice the Apples Into Thin Rings","text":"Lay a cored apple on its side and slice it into thin rings with a sharp knife. Thinner rings dry faster and get crispier, so aim for even slices about an eighth of an inch thick. If you want them all the same, a mandoline makes quick work of a big batch and keeps every ring uniform. Even thickness matters because it means everything finishes drying at the same time."},{"number":3,"title":"Soak the Rings in a Pretreatment Bath","text":"Drop the sliced rings into a bowl of water with a splash of lemon juice as you go. This quick soak keeps the apples from turning brown and helps them hold their color through the long dry. Let them sit for a few minutes while you finish slicing the rest. If you like a spiced chip, this is also the moment to dust them with a little cinnamon."},{"number":4,"title":"Arrange the Rings on the Trays","text":"Drain the rings and lay them out in a single layer on your dehydrator trays. Leave a little gap between each ring so warm air can move all the way around them. Crowding the trays slows everything down and can leave you with damp spots. Fill as many trays as you have rings, then get ready to load them up."},{"number":5,"title":"Set the Dehydrator and Let It Run","text":"Slide the loaded trays into the dehydrator and set the temperature to 135 degrees. Now the machine does the work. Depending on how thick you cut the rings and how much moisture they hold, it usually takes several hours. Carol runs hers until the apples turn pliable, so check on them as they go rather than watching a strict clock."},{"number":6,"title":"Check for Doneness","text":"Pull a ring off a tray and feel it. A finished chip should be dry and a little leathery or crisp, with no cool, wet center. Bend one in half. If it feels damp or squishy inside, the batch needs more time. Let a test piece cool for a minute first, since warm rings feel softer than they really are."},{"number":7,"title":"Store the Apple Chips","text":"Let the chips cool completely, then pack them into a clean, airtight jar. Sealed this way they keep their flavor for up to six months. If you want them to last for years, vacuum seal the jars instead. Label each jar with the date so you know what you are reaching for later. Then grab a handful, because they rarely last as long as they could."}],"recipe":{"servings":"Makes several jars of apple chips","prepMinutes":15,"cookMinutes":480,"cuisine":"American","ingredients":[{"name":"apples","notes":"a sweet variety works best","amount":"6 to 8 apples"},{"name":"lemon juice","notes":"for the pretreatment bath, mixed into water to prevent browning","amount":"2 tbsp"},{"name":"water","notes":"for the pretreatment bath","amount":"2 cups"},{"name":"ground cinnamon","notes":"optional, dust on the rings before drying","amount":"to taste"}]},"lastUpdated":"2026-07-12T19:02:13.461Z","published":"2026-07-12T18:58:56.092Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}