Dried apples are stored for a long time and retain in themselves a lot of substances and useful properties of fresh apples, they are tasty and useful. For drying apples, it is better to choose solid sour-sweet or sour varieties, preferably summer or autumn. For example, Titovka, Antonovka. Sort the apples, wash them in cold water, pour out the water, and leave the fruits in the air to dry. Then cut out the core of the apples and peel the fruits from the peel. Then cut the apples in circles or slices about 1 cm thick and dip them into salt water (20 g salt per 1 l of water) for a few minutes, which will preserve a light shade of apples.
Apples can be dried in the oven or in the sun. If you chose the first option, place the cut apples on a baking tray and dry them in the oven at a temperature of 75 ° -80 ° for 6-8 hours, periodically shaking to ensure that they are evenly dried. If you want to dry apples in the sun, then place them on a dry surface (for example, on a tray) at right angles to the sun's rays and turn them over daily. If the weather is favorable, then apples can be dried for 2-4 days. You can hang apples on a string, like a garland. If apples are not dry, dry them over a stove or in the oven.
If apples are dried correctly, they should be soft and elastic, have a light cream color. It is worth noting that of 10 kg of fresh fruits, about a kilogram of dried fruit is obtained. Dried apples should be stored in sealed containers, then they will be suitable for food for more than one year. Dried apples are convenient because they are available in dry form, and you can also make compotes.
What is useful for dried apples? With long storage, fresh apples lose a significant portion of vitamins and various substances useful to our body. Dried apples retain the useful elements contained in them much longer, contain many substances that are not affected by heat treatment. In dried apples many vitamins: B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, C, E, K, a large content of various useful elements: potassium, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese, copper, selenium, zinc, iodine and others. Also, dried apples contain fiber, protein, various acids, catechins, essential oils, phytoncides, flavonoids, dietary fibers, pectins and so on.
Thanks to this useful composition, dried apples favorably influence various processes in the body, the digestive, nervous, circulatory system, stimulate metabolism.
Apples contribute to the formation of beneficial bacteria in the intestines, which improves its performance. Dried apples help with inflammation of the large intestine, with constipation. And all because in the apple a lot of fiber, which normalizes digestion, helps to remove harmful substances from the body. Pectin, contained in apples, lowers the content of harmful cholesterol in the blood, neutralizes toxic compounds. Dried apples also have some diuretic effect, favorably affect the work of the kidneys, liver, bladder.
In addition, apples help the absorption of calcium, which, in turn, is the prevention of osteoporosis and other diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Dried apples promote faster digestion of fats and proteins. They are compatible with meat and many other products. Apples are a good prevention of obesity. Due to the content of potassium in them, apples also remove excess liquid from the body.
Apples improve the work of memory, intelligence, increase immunity. Regular eating of dried apples significantly reduces the risk of senile dementia and memory impairment. In addition, apples reduce the risk of cancer. Also, apples protect the body from premature aging.
When anemia is also useful to eat apples because of the content of iron in them. Apples are also useful for thrombophlebitis, hypertension. They improve blood circulation, reduce the risk of heart attacks. During pregnancy and lactation, dried apples will also be very useful.
In apples contains a lot of pyridoxine (vitamin B6), which is very important for the life of the body. It is needed by people who have taken antibiotics for a long time, as well as for women who take contraceptives and are again pregnant, especially with toxicosis. The lack of vitamin B6 worsens blood circulation and brain function. This vitamin has an excellent quality - it is resistant to high temperatures.
Apples contain a lot of iodine, because they are used as a preventive measure for diseases of the thyroid gland, in particular of goiter. Iodine also improves brain processes, and is therefore recommended to students and mental workers.
Dried apples will help with coughing, with diseases of the cardiovascular and endocrine systems. If you eat dried apples on a daily basis, you will noticeably improve your hair, nails and skin after two weeks.
The use of apples in food improves vision, improves the condition of teeth, prevents caries due to its antibacterial properties. Dried apples can be replaced, if necessary, crackers, chips, sweets, tk. they are natural, useful, they do not contain fat, and they have fewer calories, and more vitamins. In addition, they quite well satisfy hunger.
As you can see, dried apples are very useful. List their dignity and useful properties can be very long. They preserve almost all the biological and nutritional values of fresh fruits, and there are almost no diseases that would be a contraindication for eating apples for food. Carefully eat dried apples in diabetes. So eat apples in both fresh and dried form and be healthy!