Heating with wood has its pros and cons. When you wake up to cold floors and a thermostat needle just shy of 58 degrees and have to go outside to gather wood (before your coffee), it's hard to enjoy. But the pros are hard to beat, like sitting next to a crackly fire when the weather is nasty or warming your hands directly over the rising heat.
I have been using the wood stove more and more each year to dry things, from herbs to stale bread for making crumbs, and now apples. After seeing sliced apples strung on a piece of twine for drying on The Lovely Life, it seemed so obvious. Stringing takes up little space and looks so sweet.
The post translation didn't include any details, but I figured it would be pretty straight forward. And it is. . .
Rinse apples and slice into 1/2'' rounds. You can core them, but the natural star center is gorgeous.
Transfer sliced apples to a bowl and arrange a place to thread onto twine.
Once strung, I opted to bathe slices in lemon juice in hopes of keeping some nice color.
Hang in well ventilated spot, preferably near a wood stove or fire place. Strings will be heavy, so secure well.
Allow to dry 2-4 days.
Apples are ready when fully dehydrated and leathery. The chewy consistency and concentrated sugars makes them fairly addictive.
Enjoy.
I miss it: the joy of a nice wood burning fire and a good foto.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rachel.
Eddie and Rachel, I'm sitting by the Vermont Castings "Vigilant" right now, warming my bones and heart. Got herbs drying above it from hanging screens. The hound is busy preening next to me. Wood heat is so delightful. Those apples look real good.
ReplyDeleteHey D and Eddie, this is fun. Lets have a fire again soon.
ReplyDelete