Today we find added sugar in almost anything that we eat or drink. It might sound unbelievable, but the average American consumes 22 teaspoons of sugar a day without knowing it. That is because almost all major food producers have added sugar to their products. That includes even meat!
No wonder the rate of obesity and diabetes have all risen up lately.
Besides the sugar that is already inside the foods we buy, we also consume a decent quantity that we add to sweeten stuff like coffee, tea or to make kompot and jam. So it makes sense to cut off the added sugar from our daily foods and replace it with another sweetener that is less processed, has no GMO’s and a lot of vitamins not only carbs.
The sweetener that I make at home is very flavored and smells absolutely delicious.
And although it is not sugar, I call it “apple sugar”. If you dehydrate apples and grind them into a powder, you’ll find out that this powder goes pretty well in your morning tea, coffee and can substitute your sugar for good.
Because “Apple Sugar” contains a high concentration of fructose and because fructose contains a high concentration of unprocessed sugar (found in all fruits) this acts like a sweetener.
And, of course it has the same survival properties as sugar.
So here is a very simple step by step guide to making your own apple sugar:
Step 1 – Wash your Apples
I know there are six apples in the picture, but I finally decided to use only four.
From four apples you can make “apple sugar” of approximately the weight of an apple.
Step 2 – Quarter, Core and Slice The Apples (Optional)
Today I decided to make an experiment: I also used the cores to see what happens. So I labeled this step “Optional” because the sugar from apple cores was as good, maybe a little bit more flavored than the one from fruit itself. Interesting!
Don’t peel them!
Another thing that I do with apple cores is to make my own apple vinegar. Here is the step by step guide.
Step 3 – Add your Sliced Apples to a Blender in Small Batches
Why small batches? Because otherwise you’ll have to wait for ages.
You also need to pour some water from time to time if the apples get stuck.
It takes just 10 minutes to blend all four apples.
Step 4 – Spread the Pureed Apples Very Thinly
If you have a dehydrator you can spread the pureed apples on the dehydrator’s fruit leather sheets.
If you don’t have a dehydrator, don’t worry, you can also use your electric oven.
So, place a cooking paper on your baking tray and spread the pureed apples (just like in the image).
Step 5 – The Dehydration Process
If you have a dehydrator you can set it at 150°F (65°C) and let it do its job for around 18 – 20 hours.
If you use an oven for the dehydration, set it at 170°F (77°C) and let the oven door slightly opened… just a little bit so the steam can exit. You should let it like this for 6 hours and then follow the next step.
Step 6 – Only for Those Using an Oven
In order to dehydrate the apples faster and if you don’t want them to get stuck to the cooking paper, you should peel off the apples, which now are like a sticking leather, and crumble them in smaller pieces using your hands (it’s easy and it smells nice).
Place it again in the oven over a cooking paper at the same temperature and let it there for at least 4 hours. If you want to make sure it’s ready take it out after another 8 hours.
Step 7 – Result
This is how it should look when it’s ready to be ground into apple sugar.
It’s impossible not to taste it at this level. You’ll absolutely love the smell.
As you can see, the apple cored are drier… probably because they contain less water.
Step 7 – After Grinding
As you can see in the image, the apple sugar looks almost exactly like brown sugar and can be used exactly like it.
I mixed the powder I obtained from apple cores with the rest of the apple sugar because there was literally no difference in taste, smell or texture.
