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We eat apples all year, but there is nothing like a fresh apple picked from the tree! If you are looking for a way to buy in bulk and process apples this year (and you have a freeze dryer) freeze drying apples is a wonderful way to preserve apples when they taste the freshest.
I have been buying freeze dried snack for years as an alternative to processed baby snacks, but since investing in a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer now the whole family can enjoy a variety of freeze dried snacks! We did a family experiment freeze drying a different variety of apple on each of the freeze dryer trays during our first run to see what our favorite varieties were. I’ll share below how each of the apples rated!
I will also share links to the tools I use and how to keep them fresh in the pantry.
Positives of Freeze Drying Apples
- Healthy snack for on the go (alone or in a trail mix!)
- Long term food storage option.
- Money Saving — buying apples in bulk and the ability to process and eat them all year.
- Great baby food snack without an extra additives or chemicals to process.
Tools to Help to Freeze Dry Apples
- Apple Corer — quick and easy. Equal sized slices will help apples freeze dry evenly.
- Sharp Knife
- Silicone Mat — helps grip your work station and the silicone helps make clean up a breeze!
- Freeze Dryer — I have the Large Freeze Dryer from Harvest Right.
Watch on YouTube
I did start a series playlist on youtube specifically for freeze drying if you’d like to subscribe!
Top 3 Best Apple Varieties
My husband had this fun idea to buy a few different types of apples, each on their own freeze dry tray, and as a family, do a taste test to rate our favorite freeze dried apples. Fun right?
He was able to find 4 varieties of apples at the local grocery store — granny smith, gala, fuji, and pink lady. Since we have a Large Harvest Right Freeze Dryer, we did the 5th tray as mixture of all the apple varieties, and after the taste test, we could definitely taste the difference! According to our family’s preference here are the top 3 apples to freeze dry:
- Granny Smith
- Fuji
- Pink Lady
- Gala — honestly, the flavor really lacked with this apple variety when freeze dried
I’ll encourage you to do your own batch to see your taste preference — it was also a fun thing to do to get everyone involved and excited about having a freeze dryer too.
Storing Your Freeze Dried Apples
Our short term solution (1-12 months) to freeze dried apples (and other one- ingredient snacks) are in half gallon mason jars. I always put in a reusable food grade moisture absorber so I can easily check our jars since the beads change color when there is moisture detected in the jar.
I also bought (and love!) a hand held mason jar vacuum sealer, that is capable of vacuuming small and large mason jar. It’s a quick and easy tool to use and have been super happy with the results.
If you freeze dry apples consider freeze drying pineapples (slice thin!) and peaches too! And if you want this and other posts sent straight to your email, sign up for the newsletter here: