How to Make Dried Apple Slices – Křížaly

Krizaly before baking
Doing some research across various message boards and recipes sites (of which some were translated from Czech); I found numerous methods to prepare dried apples. This dried fruit is a popular snack in the Czech Republic. There are many benefits to dried apples. They are healthy, lightweight, provide energy boost, and are an excellent way to preserve apples that might be on their way out or getting soft. I like to add dried apples to hot cereals or incorporate into dumplings. Homemade dried apples are also a heck of a lot cheaper than buying them packaged in the dried state. I enjoyed digging away on this topic as some websites showed the apples being dried next to a furnace or tented alongside a radiator for a couple of days! If I had radiators throughout my home, I think I would give this method a try. My furnace is enclosed in a very dusty room with too many spiders to count, so I decided to pass on that approach and dried the apples using the electric oven. The oven is a quick way to dry foods when a kitchen dryer is unavailable.
First thing I do is get three medium size apples. There is no perfect apple for Krizaly. Go with your apple of choice. Since it is being dried I would go with a less expensive type of apple such as a granny smith, golden delicious, or gala. These are perfect for drying. Drying top shelf apples such as Honey crisps or pink lady is just wrong as these sweet tender juicy apples will fare no better than any other apple in the dried state.
It is also a matter of personal preference if you want peels to remain or get removed. I decided to remove peel. I then cored the apple, as I do not want any seeds in my apple rings.
Take the entire apple and make rings approximately 1/8 inch thick and place in water solution that includes lemon juice (acid will prevent browning). Once all apples have been cut and submerged in water they are ready for drying stage.
Remove apples and place on towel. Pat dry apples to remove excess water. Place the fruit on parchment lined pan trying to squeeze as many rings as close together as possible. For extra flavor consider sprinkling cinnamon or nutmeg over apple rings. I my batch I used cinnamon. Heat in oven for 4 hours at 225 degrees Fahrenheit (107 Celsius); turning apples midway through drying. This baking process will make kitchen and home smell wonderful.

After four hours are up, turn off oven and leave apples inside to continue drying for additional hour. Remove from oven and place rings in container.

Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 2, 2023 at 1:11 PM

    I have done this in years past. One of my daughters did as a science experiment — “How many apples are in this bag?” Kids were really interested to learn how to dehydrate and how much the flavor is condensed.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Svickova (Marinated Beef)

Cooler weather ushers in more czech cooking. Well, the weather has finally cooled down here in Chicago which means I can immerse myself into cooking more Bohemian food. Today, I made Svickova which is marinated beef. This recipe much resembles the Chateau recipe with a few alerations here and there. I usually enjoy this dish served over dumplings with green beans on the side. I try to slice the roast as thin as possible so I can place the meat directly on top the dumplings when serving. A cold pilsner to accompany the meal is always good. Here is the recipe. Marinated Beef (Svickova) 3 lbs Sirloin Roast 2 Cups Water 1 Cup Vinegar 2 Carrots, Chopped 2 Ribs of Celery, Chopped 2 Parsnips, Chopped 1 onion, Chopped 5 pieces of Allspice 6 Peppercorns 2 Bay Leaves 4 Tbls All Purpose Flour 1 16oz container Sour Cream 1 Cup Beef Broth 1/2 Tsp Thyme Directions: 1. Combine water, vinegar, vegetables, all spice, peppercorns, and bay leaves into a saucepan and bring to a boil...
Read more

Easy to Make Bohemian Rye Bread

Image
A few weeks back, I had a desire to make a sour dough starter to initiate my own homemade bohemian rye bread.   As mentioned in previous posts, this experiment has failed for a few reasons, so I went to option number two – using dry yeast. I scoured the internet in pursuit of Bohemian rye bread recipes and found one here at cooks.com. I was disheartened that there weren’t any pictures nor testimonials next to this recipe, but the recipe appeared to be easy to follow and used a combination of rye flour and all purpose flour.   Since I was a young child, I enjoyed a good Czech or German rye bread at restaurants and have been in pursuit of trying to imitate some of those good table breads. I like Bohemian rye bread because it is lighter in appearance and density (not too heavy on the rye grains) and it works well as pre-meal offering and partners well with soups or with assorted meats and cheeses.   This rye bread recipe I found adds in the European accent of caraway and...
Read more

Czech Donuts

I am a big fan of sweet doughs that often resemble donuts and seem very airy. You know, the kind of baked or fried dough that springs back when you press down on it. These doughs are typical of the dunkin donuts long john or boston cream donut or jelly bismarck. I also associate this dough with the infamous polish paczki. My mom used to make what she called Shishky (Slovak) or what is considered Vdolky. The dough started out as flat rounds then raised quite a bit when exposed to heat, often producing almost a partially flattened tennis ball or baseball shape. She would finish them off with putting a little prune or raspberry filling on top with a dollop of whipped cream or dusting of confectioners sugar. Some people like to take the finish batch of Vdolky and shake them up in a paper back with cinnamon sugar. They are really tasty especially if you eat one while it is still relatively warm. Go ahead and make mom some Czech donuts for Mother’s Day. Czech Donuts - Shishky (Vdolky)...
Read more