Apples are one of the healthiest fruits that help improve human health and saturate the body with minerals and trace elements. They are available all year round, but, unfortunately, after only 2 months of storage, seasonal locally harvested apples lose most of their nutrients. To preserve apples with their original supply of nutrients, you can use the long-known drying method. Dried apples, the health benefits and harms of which are constantly being studied by nutritionists, can saturate the body with vitamins all year round, thereby successfully combating seasonal vitamin deficiency.
Chemical composition of dried apples
During the drying process, apples lose only water, and all useful substances remain in the pulp of the dried fruit. All minerals, vitamins and microelements remain in their original quantities throughout the year.
The pulp of dried apples contains the following substances:
- Organic acids, the share of which is at least 2.5%. Dried fruits contain tartaric, malic, citric and chlorogenic acids. They help the body resist various viruses and maintain acid-base balance.
- Sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose) – they contain at least 12%. The high sugar content promotes rapid saturation and restoration of strength. At the same time, fructose is contraindicated for overweight people.
- Tannins with anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects.
- Pectins and polysaccharides speed up metabolism and help normalize the level of bad cholesterol.
- Flavanoids are found only in apple peels. They help remove free radicals and promote cell regeneration.
- Minerals. The pulp contains a high percentage of magnesium and iron, which are needed to improve the quality of blood composition, the functioning of the heart muscle and the circulatory system. The product is also rich in iodine, which normalizes human hormonal levels.
- Phytoncides that suppress the proliferation of pathogenic environments.
The benefits of dried apples
Now let’s figure out what the benefits and harms of dried apples are. Thanks to its rich chemical composition, dried apples have a wide range of beneficial properties for the body:
- have a diuretic effect;
- has a positive effect on the circulatory, nervous and digestive systems;
- saturates liver tissue with beneficial microelements;
- stimulates intestinal motility;
- speeds up metabolism;
- normalizes the functioning of the urinary system and liver;
- helps get rid of constipation, recommended for inflammation of the large intestine;
- helps restore soft and muscle tissues, epidermis;
- helps reduce the level of bad cholesterol in the blood;
- is an excellent prevention of osteoporosis and other possible pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, because the absorption of calcium by the body improves.
Harm of dried fruits from apples
Despite all the advantages, dried apples can also cause harm, and therefore have a number of contraindications.
- Due to the high sugar content, drying is prohibited for people with diabetes or obesity. As a last resort, the amount of dried fruit consumed should be strictly limited to a couple of slices per week.
- During an exacerbation of peptic ulcer disease, it is also not recommended to supplement the diet with dried apples.
- If pancreatic function is impaired, dried fruits can be consumed only after consulting a doctor. And in case of acute pancreatitis, apples in any form should be completely excluded from the diet.
- A high fiber content can not only be beneficial, but also cause negative effects: constipation, diarrhea, flatulence and stomach cramps.
- The high calorie content of the product can contribute to excess weight gain. Therefore, it is recommended to regulate the caloric content of food consumed.
- Very often, people who have tried commercial drying may feel slightly unwell, namely: nausea, dizziness, sore throat and cough.
These symptoms are caused by the preservative sulfur dioxide, which manufacturers quite often use to make dried fruits. This prolongs the safety and presentation of the product, but at the same time is harmful to health.
People who are more sensitive to this substance may experience attacks of suffocation. In more severe cases, pulmonary edema may occur. Therefore, dried fruits from the supermarket should be consumed with extreme caution. To replenish vitamin reserves, it will be enough to consume about 100 g of the product at one time.
Application
This fruit can be consumed both dried and boiled. It is often used to prepare compotes and jelly. Many apple lovers bake their apples in the oven. The use of dried chopped apples is common in making three-minute porridges, the so-called “muesli”.
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Ways to eat dried apples
The first thing that comes to mind is to cook a compote of dried apples. This popular and favorite drink by many can be brewed not only from dried apples, but also by adding other dried fruits or berries. During cooking, dried apples should be placed in the cooking pan earlier, because it takes the longest to cook.
Dried apples can also be added to many other tasty and healthy drinks. Pieces of dried fruit are added to a teapot or thermos with your favorite tea. The fruit can also be combined with medicinal herbs, citrus pulp or zest, rose hips and other ingredients.
Dried apples can be put into uzvar - a rich drink made from fruits, berries and honey. Based on drying, delicious aromatic jelly is cooked and apple kvass is made.
Dried apples are added to a variety of homemade baked goods: buns, rolls, pies, cookies, pies. In addition, they go well with many other ingredients: honey, berries, fruits, poppy seeds, pumpkin. Fruits are suitable either fresh, canned or frozen.
Apples are used not only to prepare fillings, but also added to the dough itself. Thus, you get very tasty and aromatic muffins, pancakes, gingerbread, etc. Before adding to the dough, the drying agent is crushed into fine crumbs or soaked in hot water and then pureed.
This dried fruit is very often used as a base for making homemade marshmallows. Various vitamin sweets are also prepared from it, supplementing the recipe with raisins, dried apricots, various nuts and honey.
Before using in many recipes, dried apple slices should be pre-soaked in hot water. After half an hour, the water is drained, and the softened apples themselves are ground in a blender or meat grinder. A few drops of cognac or rum will help give the filling a special aroma.
Dried apples go well with various cereals, so they can be added to porridge. Apples also go well with lactic acid products. That's why they are added to yogurt. Before doing this, it is advisable to soak dried fruits, but you can soak them directly in yogurt.
But the easiest way to consume dried apples is to eat them immediately without any additional processing. Dried slices can replace more energy-intensive snacks: chips, candies, crackers, chocolate bars. In this case, the benefits of dried apples will greatly outweigh the junk food. Drying will saturate and fill the body with vitamins.
Pectin in dried apples
The benefits of dried apples are the abundance of fiber. Fiber in reasonable quantities is beneficial for the gastrointestinal tract: it improves digestion, cleanses the intestines, normalizes stool, helps speed up metabolism, and prevents the absorption of cholesterol from the digestive tract into the blood (the component of apple pulp, pectin, is responsible for the latter).
The peel of an apple, for example, contains a lot of cellulose, and the pulp contains pectin; all of this is dietary fiber; Cellulose is an insoluble dietary fiber (it is not digested or absorbed by our body), and pectin is soluble; together they play an important role in overall health. Many fruits contain pectin, but apples are especially rich in it. In addition to a beneficial effect on the digestive system, pectin and cellulose have a healing effect on the skin - they improve its condition in all respects.
If your daily diet includes a lot of fruits and vegetables, then you get all the benefits described from fresh fruits and vegetables. But if you are not a fan of fresh plant foods, then dried apples will compensate for the benefits of fresh fruits for the body.
It should also be noted that when consuming dietary fiber, you should not forget to drink at least 2 liters of water per day.
Dried apples inherit from fresh ones ascorbic acid, B vitamins, as well as microelements: potassium, iron, manganese, selenium.
Dried apples for weight loss
All dried fruits are consumed to a minimum during the diet. This is due to the fact that dried fruits have five times more calories than fresh ones. To reduce calorie content, soak dried fruits in hot water before eating.
Dried apples for weight loss are used in the form of a specially designed diet designed for 5 days. During this period of time, 400 g of a mixture of dried fruits and nuts is consumed every day. Every hour you need to eat a tenth (20 grams) of the mixture. You need to drink a lot of liquid all the time, especially green tea.
For weight loss, it is also useful to replace dinner every day with a small portion of dried apples.
Fasting days on dried apples will help maintain normal weight. Once a week you need to replace all food with 200 g of dried apples.
How to dry apples
To get a quality product, you need to know the technology of fruit drying. There are several ways.
On open air
This option is practiced in the summer when there is intense heat. Drying in the sun allows you to prepare a large number of apples at once.
The scheme is simple: first, prepared apple slices are laid out on nets and covered with a layer of gauze to protect them from flies and other insects. They are turned over daily. The process takes up to 4 days outdoors, and a little longer if the apples are in the shade.
In the oven
Apples dried in the oven for the winter, as we do, the fruits need to be cut into thin slices and placed on a baking sheet previously covered with parchment paper. The oven needs to be preheated to +80 degrees.
- Place the pan in the oven at this temperature for 30 minutes.
- Then we reduce it by 10 degrees and leave the apples for the next 5 hours. This time is enough for the fruit to give up most of the water.
- Turn the pieces over to the other side and reduce the temperature to +50 degrees. Drying should be continued for another 4 hours, periodically turning the apple slices over.
In an electric dryer
The prepared fruits are laid out in trays in one layer. They are dried at +60 degrees for 8 hours.
Microwave
Dried apples in the microwave, what we do, the drying process in the microwave takes only 5 minutes, but you can cook a small amount of apple slices at a time.
- The chopped fruit is laid out on a plate.
- You need to dry it at a power of 200 W for 30 seconds.
- After each completion of the cycle, the fruits must be turned over and the degree of readiness assessed.
You need to understand that when the temperature rises above 60 degrees, vitamin C is destroyed almost 100%. Therefore, if the drying process was in air, then there is a chance to preserve vitamin C. If you dried it in the oven or microwave, it is unlikely that vitamin C remained there. But the pectin definitely remained.
Dried apples during pregnancy
Due to their rich composition, dried apple fruits will help the expectant mother’s body accumulate a certain supply of microelements and vitamins. But do not forget about the high calorie content of drying. Excessive consumption of dried apples can cause weight gain, which can adversely affect pregnancy itself and the birth process.
During pregnancy, it is better for women to eat dry food prepared at home. It is better to avoid the purchased product, because... it may contain toxic sulfur dioxide.
Dried apples
Dried apples are a natural, healthy delicacy that is tasty and easy to prepare. As a rule, apples for drying are cut into rings or thin slices, only the smallest varieties are dried whole and used in a mixture of dried fruits to make compotes. Dried apples may not have a very attractive appearance - wrinkled, the flesh is light brown - such apples are dried without the use of various additives and chemicals, these are the most useful slices. The aroma of fresh apples is preserved in dried ones and even becomes stronger, richer; the taste depends on the variety of apples. Dried apples have an elastic, slightly elastic structure; after long storage they become brittle and dry.
Calorie content of dried apples
The calorie content of dried apples is 231 kcal per 100 grams of product.
Composition and beneficial properties of dried apples
Dried apples, getting rid of water during the drying process, retain almost the entire vitamin and mineral complex inherent in fresh fruits. Moreover, the concentration of vitamins and minerals in the product increases several times. Dried apples contain: beta-carotene, vitamins B, C, PP, as well as potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, antioxidants, indigestible dietary fiber, pectin. Under the influence of high temperatures, only the level of ascorbic acid, which fresh apples are rich in, decreases. The presence of fiber and pectin helps remove excess cholesterol, toxins and waste from the body. Dried apples are useful for normalizing the activity of the heart muscle and are a preventive measure against the formation of cholesterol plaques on the walls of blood vessels. The product contains practically no allergens, so dried apples can be consumed as a dessert by people prone to allergic reactions.
Harm of dried apples
It is not recommended to overuse dried apples for diabetics (especially those with the disease in the last stages) due to the increased sugar content and for those who are overweight - the caloric content of the product is quite high, you should limit yourself to a few slices of dried apple per day.
Dried apples for weight loss
Dried apples are a tasty and satisfying product, at the same time light and voluminous, which can be safely recommended as a healthy snack not only during a diet or fasting days, but always (calorizator). Apple slices are convenient to take with you to work or on a trip, store in the office and consume as needed. 100 grams of dried apples take up a half-liter jar, so if you eat 3-6 slices a day, you won’t get many calories.
Selection and storage of dried apples
It is more correct to choose unsightly-looking dried apple slices or circles; the whiter and more beautiful the product, the more chemicals were added during drying. Well-dried apples in the fall will perfectly retain their organoleptic properties until spring if they are placed in glass, ceramics or linen bags and stored in a dry, dark, well-ventilated room.
How to dry apples at home
For any method of drying, apples must first be washed, cored (if you plan to eat dried apples, you can save the seeds and membranes for compote) and cut into transverse circles or thin slices. To reduce oxidation and darkening of the apple pulp, you can soak them in a lemon solution or sprinkle with lemon juice before drying.
Drying apples for pancreatitis
For pancreatitis, either complete temporary fasting or a diet menu is recommended. In this case, the body really needs additional vitamin products. But is it possible to eat dried apples for pancreatitis?
In case of acute pancreatitis, products with fiber should be completely excluded from the menu, including dried apples. Because It has as much fiber as fresh fruit. Therefore, during an exacerbation of the disease, it is forbidden to eat any dried fruits.
In case of chronic development of the disease, some dried fruits are allowed, including dried apples. Only it is better to eat them not fresh, but to cook compotes or jelly, adding just a little sugar or other sweetener. Such drinks will bring many benefits to the body and will not overload the pancreas.
