‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’- the adage regarding how we can keep ourselves healthy. We like variety, convenience, and testier food. Therefore, as the days are passing by, people are discovering new ways of consuming our old foods. Apple chips and dehydrated apples were added to our favorite food list when people invented food dehydrator and air fryer. In this article, we will discuss how you can dehydrate apples in an air fryer to prepare apple chips.
Nutrition facts
Apples are high in vitamin A and C with lower calorie content. This delicious fruit is also high in fiber and different kinds of antioxidants which can fight diseases like Asthma. Various kinds of soluble and insoluble fibers are good for our intestine.Apple which has been dehydrated in the right way contains almost the same nutrients compared to the raw version of it. With the removal of water, some vitamin C may also go away from dried apple. Other than this, all other food value remains the same if it is dehydrated in optimal condition. However, many people say that dried apples contain more calories which are not true. If you compare the calorie content of 100gms of dried and raw apple, there is no doubt that the calories present in the dried apple will be higher. The reason is simple. 100 gm of dried apple is equivalent to 500 gm of raw apple. The reason is that dried apples weigh 1/5 of that of raw apple. Therefore, the calorie content will be 5 times higher in dried apple having the same weight. But in practice, you are comparing the calories of 5 apples with that of 1 apple. That’s not an apple to apple comparison.
Nutrition facts in 1/2 cup of dehydrated apple
| Nutrition Facts | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Sugar | 21 gm |
| Fiber | 4 gm |
| Sodium | 10 mg |
| Potassuim | 98 mg |
| Vitamin C | 2% of daily need |
| Iron | 2% of daily need |
| Calcium | 2% of daily need |
| Calories | 90 cal |
Dehydrated apple vs apple chips
There is a misconception among us regarding apple chips which my not the same as dehydrated apples. Always remember, dehydrators and air fryers are not the same. Therefore, output from these two different kitchen appliances will not be exactly the same.
Apple chips at high temperature
When we prepare apple chips with an air fryer, we may or may not care about controlling the temperature. Therefore, if the temperature is not maintained below the suggested range, the nutrition facts may get damaged. Most of the air fryers do not come with the option of lowering the temperature below 200°F. In this case, air frying in high temperatures will not make still make apple chips but these will not be true dehydrated apples. Chips prepared in high temperature may not be stored for long time. These are better for serving instantly.
Dehydrated apples
The fruit dehydration process required removing the water without changing the nutrition value. Therefore, if you want to dehydrate apples in an air fryer, you just need to keep the temperature below 150°F. Very few air fryers can lower that temperature that much. Therefore, if you need to dehydrate food too often than you should purchase your air fryer carefully. Another important aspect of dehydration is that it may require 8-10 hours or more to complete this process. But preparing apple chips at high temperatures may require only few minutes.
How you can dehydrate apple in your air fryer
Maintain the temperature- As I have mentioned, the dehydration process requires low temperature for a longer time. If your air fryer does not allow you to go below 200°F, then do not expect properly dehydrated fruits from it. A true dehydration process requires temperature about 150°F or less but 170-180°F may be doable for some food items.
Cut the apples in thin pieces- The thinner the slices are, the easier it is for the hot air to distribute the temperature evenly. Therefore, try to use a fruit slicer rather than cutting manually with a kitchen knife.
Get the apples 95% dehydrated– When you set the temperature and time, do not rely on any specific recipe. Not all air fryers work in the same way. Therefore, nobody can suggest you any concrete recipe to prepare perfect dehydrated apple chips. During the dehydration process, you need to check the status from time to time. When the stickiness removes and the chips are crispy, you may consider that the dehydration process is done.
Do not overcrowd– One of the disadvantages of an air fryer is that it is compact. The small cooking chamber does not have enough flat surface to accommodate a lot of chips. Therefore, people usually go for multiple stacking. However, do not allow more than three layers of chips on the basket. It is important to keep a lower density for uniform heat distribution.
Do not hasten to store– After you feel that the process is done, you need to cool down the dehydrated apple chips at room temperature. Do not store it in hot conditions. After the temperature is down to equilibrium, take an airtight bag to store the chips to protect these from moisture.
Required ingredients
- Apple (medium size) – 1 pc
Dehydration process
- Slice the apple with a kitchen knife or mandolin. Thinner pieces are better for dehydration.
- Do not peel the skin off because the skin contains necessary fiber and antioxidants.
- Place the sliced apple on the basket of your air fryer. Do not stack multiple layers.
- Set the temperature of 150°F and cook for 4 hours. If you are using a dehydrator, you may require twice as much time as doing it with an air fryer at the same temperature.
- After the time is over, check the stickiness of the chips. Dehydrate for few minutes to hours if you do not feel that the chips are properly dried.
Apple chips at high temperature (not dehydrated)
Ingredients
- Apple (medium size) – 1 pc
- Cinnamon – ¼ teaspoon
- Salt – a pinch
- Sugar ( optional) – ¼ teaspoon
Process
- Wash the apple with water or vinegar water.
- Cut the apple into thin slices with mandolin or fruit slicer.
- Take the cinnamon and salt on a separate bowl and mix it properly.
- Take the sliced apples in the basket of the air fryer and place it in a single layer.
- Sprinkle the mixture of salt and cinnamon on the sliced apple chips.
- Preheat the air fryer at 400°F for 5 minutes.
- After the preheating is done, cook the apple chips at 300°F for about 20 minutes.
- Flip the chips every 5 minutes to ensure even heat distribution.
- After 20 minutes increase the temperature by 20° In this stage, the chips will turn to crispy.
- Continue for about 10 more minutes. Remove the pieces which have already turned to brown.
- Keep close attention so that the chips do not get burnt.
Recommended Air fryer for apple dehydration
For any kind of dehydration, you need an air fryer with the required minimum temperature. Having multiple-layer racks is also a requirement. Having these requirements in consideration, I have found GoWise 17 Qt air fryer to be the best one for dehydration of fruits and other things. It has 5 layer racks that you won’t find in any other standalone air fryer. You can set the timer up to 8 hours that is also great. I highly recommend this model.
You may also check the best food dehydrators if you want to dehydrate on large scale.
GoWise USA 17-Quart Multi-functional Air Fryer And Dehydrator
Related Content
- Read our article on how you can cook in an air fryer without oil.
- Know the major differences between an air fryer and a convection oven.
- Know about the working principle of the air fryer.
Final Words
If you have a dedicated dehydrator you will enjoy varieties of options such as preparing multiple types of fruits at a time, lowering the temperature as per the requirement of fruit dehydration and so on. Therefore, if you truly need to dehydrate fruits in frequent occasions, I suggest you get a dehydrator. An air fryer can dehydrate your apples only if it can go below the threshold temperature.