I usually store mine in mason jars but if I had a foodsaver, I'd probably choose that. Yes, they need to be airtight if you want crispy, otherwise they are chewy and don't last as long in storage.

One trick for getting more in the dehydrator quickly, is once they have started to shrivel and shrink, move the partially dried ones off of one tray (or two if they really shrivel) and distribute those apples on the remaining trays. Then put some freshly cut apples on the empty tray - you'll have a faster rotation that way instead of waiting for the whole dehydratorful to be fully dry.

I have some containers that are not fully air-tight, and I thought I would store the ones we plan to eat fairly soon in those.

If the Foodsaver is a good option, then I'll use that for most of them, to save space.

I'm afraid of putting freshly cut apples in with some that are partially dehydrated, and I've got a sort of routine going now. It's mostly labor intensive at the beginning and afterwards I just rotate the trays and wait.

The first batch came out really good - and sweeter than I expected. I guess I'll have to look for recipes that use dried apples once I am all done. The instruction booklet said that you can make applesauce with them, but I don't think I'll be doing that. I'll bet they are good with steel-cut oats, but I doubt I could use them in pancakes.

Lars, I've done both, stored in jars and with the food saver. I do add those dessicant packs to the ones in jars. I was afraid that the FoodSaver would smash up the slices, but it did not and I used some I had kept for two years to make an apple stack cake last year and it turned out well and they were still flavorful.

I'm glad your apples turned out well. Ashley eats them as snacks, but I do try to cook with them. I often chop some up and add them to muffins.

Annie

Annie, do you dry the desiccant packs in the dehydrator before using them? Where do you get the desiccant packs? I have several that I've saved from Allegra bottles, and I think I could possible use those.

I will be putting a bunch of the apples in Foodsaver bags, and I think I have room in the freezer for some of them.

I plan to experiment with putting the dried apples in pancakes, but I would not be able to make German apple pancakes with them, as that is more like an upside-down cake, and the apples have to be sautéed in butter, and the apples pieces are larger than the slices I am drying.

I just ordered a big bag of them from Amazon, they were already dry, but the instructions said that if they become moist, I can put them in the oven and dry them to use again.

I dehydrate leeks and garlic, hot peppers, sometimes onions, and fruit, so I needed more dessicant packs than I can get from the bottles of Vitamin C and such that I buy, but they weren't very expensive. I think I got 100 for less than $10.00.

Annie

Also helpful to include Oxygen Absorber Packets For long term storage.

dcarch

Thanks, Annie. I ordered some desiccant packets from Amazon, and they said there would be same day delivery; therefore I expect them probably tomorrow. At that time I can start storing the dried apples in Foodsaver bags. I don't want to put them in those until I have the packets. I really do not have enough space in the freezer to put them there, since I just put a lot of free bread from the bakery in the freezer.

I got 50 packets for less than $10.00, and so I may have ordered different ones from what you got. The Oxygen Absorber Packets are much more expensive, and so I did not order any of those. I don't expect to keep the dried apples that long; if I did, I would probably freeze them. I will consider those for future projects, however.

Mason jars or just plastic snap lid containers. They go so fast here, I don't worry about long term. Since I'm in humid FL, I will put the jars or containers in my fridge, if I intend to keep them longer than a week or so.

How does anyone else keep from eating them all right away? They are like candy!

I agree - I don't expect them to last very long, and it is taking me quite a while to make a not very large quantity. I am starting them as early every morning as I can so that I can let them dehydrate for 12 hours. It takes me at least 1-1/2 hours to get the dehydrator filled with apple slices. I've been soaking the slices in a citric acid solution for ten minutes, after which I rinse and dry them with kitchen towels before putting into the dehydrator. Fortunately, I have an apple peeler/corer/slicer that makes quick work of those tasks.

The desiccant packets arrived today, and so I will start packing the dried apples in Foodsaver bags and vacuum seal them with the packets. According to the packet information, the 5mg packets will be sufficient for 600 cubic inches of storage, which amounts to 10 quarts - much huger than any storage I will be using. I guess a bit of overkill won't hurt. Anyway, I have 50 packets, and that should last me a while.

When I dry apples, I peel, core & slice them and toss them in a big bowl with lemon or lime juice, sprinkling it on as I add more slices. I don't bother drying anything off before putting them on the racks, and It doesn't take very long that way.

I peel/core/slice and toss them into a bowl with water and a couple of crushed vitamin C tablets, the ascorbic acid keeps them from oxidizing but doesn't add such a "sour" flavor. I do have a little gadget that peels, slices and cores with the turn of a handle, and that speeds things up quite a lot while making uniform slices that dry all at the same time.

Lars, if I had known you were going to need some, I would have shared those packets with you while you were here. I think I have enough to last pretty much forever!

Annie

I started putting lemon juice in a small spray bottle and just spraying peeled and cut apples as I did a layer, sometimes mixing the batch just to make sure I got them covered. It seems to use less lemon juice this way.

I have extra spray bottles, and so I might try that next time. I'm not sure I'm going to dry any more apples this season, however.

Lars, I'm not using my dried apples as often as I should and did too many in 2018 when the orchard had a 2 for 1 season closing special on utility apples. I usually do a large dice so I can add to oatmeal but I also did shredded to use in a muffin recipe. Do you do different sizes of apples pieces when you dehydrate? I store in glass canning jars with a plastic lid.

I have a device that cores, peels, and slices all at once, and so all the pieces are very similar. I think the thin slices dehydrate faster also. I would expect cubes to take quite a while.

Food saver bags will keep things fresh longer but if they are going to be eaten within a few weeks or a month, just a ziplock bag will work fine, as will canning jars or those food containers with snap on lids like Tupperware and LockNLock. I kept mine for a couple of years in a freezer ziplock bag that I sucked the air out of with a straw and they were fine, I used them in an apple stack cake.

Annie