By ShowMeStepByStepPublished
Based on a video by Carol - Thrifty Chic Housewife.
Apple chips are one of the easiest things you can make in a dehydrator, and they cost pennies compared to the bagged ones at the store. Carol from Thrifty Chic Housewife walks through the whole process start to finish, and it is beginner-friendly the whole way.
You will core and slice the apples into thin rings, give them a quick soak so they keep their color, then lay them out and let the dehydrator do the work. What comes out is a sweet, snackable chip you can keep in a jar for months.
Carol uses a sweet apple variety and dries everything at 135 degrees until the rings turn pliable. Follow along and you will have your own stash by tomorrow.
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.
Tip
A handheld corer is faster than trying to cut around the center with a knife, and it keeps your rings neat.
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.
Tip
Keep the slices even. Thick rings stay chewy while thin ones next to them go crisp, and mixed thicknesses make it hard to tell when the tray is done.
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.
Tip
Lemon juice works great, but any commercial fruit pretreatment or a pinch of citric acid does the same job.
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.
Tip
Do not let the rings overlap. Where two pieces touch, the apple stays soft and takes much longer to dry.
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.
Tip
Trays near the heat source can dry faster. Rotate them once partway through if some rings are finishing ahead of the rest.
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.
Tip
Doneness is a feel, not a time. Chewy-dry stores well for months, and fully crisp lasts even longer.
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.
Tip
Make sure the chips are fully cool before you seal them. Trapped warmth turns into condensation, and moisture is what spoils a batch.
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