Dried Z-Apples: Turn Extra Zucchini Into A Delicious Snack!

Zucchini, like all squash, is good for you.  As I mentioned in my post about stuffed zucchini pizza, its nutritional benefits promote healthy eyesight, skin and lung function, help prevent the cellular damage caused by environmental toxins and harmful chemical processes within your body, support your immune system, promote respiratory health, helps maintain your fluid balance and normalizes your blood pressure.  Also, eating zucchini can help you manage your weight.  The fiber and moisture in zucchini, combined with its low-calorie content, make it a low-energy food.  Low-energy foods help you control your appetite and manage your weight by filling you up with water and fiber. Eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruits and other low-energy foods allows you to consume a higher volume of food with fewer calories and less fat.

If you have an abundance of zucchini drying is an interesting option.  Zucchini is 95% water (that's how they can get so big so fast) so when it's dried it reduces to a tiny percentage (e.g. 5 lbs. is reduced to about 5 ounces) of its original weight and thickness.  That concentrates the nutritional value and makes it easier to store and transport, but since zucchini is so bland how would you use the dried version?  Well, you could dry it plain and reconstitute it later for soups etc.  However a better approach is to pre-flavor the zucchini and then dry it.  Doing so makes it directly edible without being reconstituted.  I've made several versions of dried zucchini including Z-Jerky, dried Z-Pineapple (when you dry the pieces they come out looking and tasting a bit like golden raisins), and more recently dried Z-Apples.

Here's how to make yummy dried Z-Apples:

• 8 cups Zucchini - peeled, seeds scooped out, cut in quarters length-wise, sliced cross-ways into thin apple-like slices.
• 6 ounces Apple Juice Concentrate
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 TbspCitric Acid (could replace with 1/2 cup of lemon juice)

Stir the ingredients together and let the zucchini slices soak for an hour or two.  Lift the zucchini out with tongs or a slotted spoon and place on your food dryer's shelves (lightly spray the shelves with spray-oil first so the zucchini won't stick.  Run the unit unit until the zucchini are dry but not brittle.  Store in airtight bags.  Enjoy as snacks as you would dried apples.