I may be exaggerating a tad.
But you know when you have those moments where you change your usual behaviors and suddenly you can't imagine how you spent all that time doing it so backwards? For years, we've been happily dehydrating apple slices in our Excalibur dehydrator. We figured out a couple of years ago that we didn't have to douse the slices in citric acid to keep them from browning (they don't, even if left untreated), and through trial and error we discovered long ago our preference for thinly sliced apples that dry crispy and chip-like. But there we were, slicing tens of pounds of apples by hand, spending an evening cutting, placing, and cleaning up. And then poof! I thought to use the food processor, one of my absolute favorite kitchen tools. So now I can get 5 trays filled with thin apples slices, into the dehydrator and get cleaned up, all in about 10 minutes.
The food processor's slicing blade does leave behind a small amount of little pieces and paper-thin slices that just stick to the trays when dehydrated, but even that turns out to be a bonus– a little snack for the one doing the dehydrating! They're tasty with a little yogurt or even better, fried up with a bit of butter and some cinnamon. I also did carrots this way earlier this week, and am so inspired that I'm on the lookout for more fruits and veggies to dry this way, even though this isn't the time of year to find and use excess produce. But I'll be ready come August!
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