Nutrition
| Per 100 g | Per 1 oz (28 g) | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 289 kcal | 82 kcal |
| Protein | 1.7 g | 0.5 g |
| Fat | 1.1 g | 0.3 g |
| saturated | 0.2 g | 0 g |
| Carbohydrate | 63.3 g | 18 g |
| sugars | 57.8 g | 16.4 g |
| Fibre | 13.3 g | 3.8 g |
| Sodium | 6 mg | 2 mg |
Estimated from the ingredients, for the finished dried product. Actual values vary with the produce you use and how far you dry it.
Ingredients
- 2.2 kg apple (about 12 medium)
Instructions
- Save the peel from a session of making slices or sauce rather than peeling apples specially. This recipe exists because the peel is the part people throw out, and it carries more of the apple's aroma than the flesh does.
- Choose unwaxed fruit where you can, and scrub the rest under warm water first. Supermarket wax does not dry off, and it will end up in the powder.
- Peel in long ribbons rather than short flicks. Ribbons lie flat and stay put; small flakes end up in the fan.
- Spread the ribbons over the trays without letting them nest inside one another. Peel curls as it dries, and a curl with another piece trapped inside it keeps that piece damp.
- Dehydrate at 41 °C for 8 hours. The low setting is deliberate: apple aroma is volatile, and a hotter run gives you something that tastes stewed rather than fresh.
- The peel is ready when a ribbon snaps into pieces instead of folding, and when even the reddest pieces have gone stiff. Red skin holds water longer than green, so test the darkest ribbon on the tray.
- Grind the cooled peel in a spice mill in short bursts. A long run warms the powder and it clumps the moment it hits the jar.
- Sieve it if you want it fine enough for tea and keep the coarse remainder for baking. In a small airtight jar in the dark it holds its scent for about six months, which is the point at which it stops being worth using.
