To Dry Apples

This recipe hails from an early 18th-century English household manuscript, around 1725. Kitchens of the period were centered around massive wood-fired ovens, and nothing went to waste—including leftover oven heat. Dried fruit was essential for winter pantries, enabling preservation long before refrigeration or modern canning. Apples, abundant in English orchards, were a prime candidate for this treatment, becoming sweet, chewy morsels that could be enjoyed from autumn through the lean months. The process described—using residual oven warmth and repeated daily attention—captures both the rhythm of historic domestic life and the ingenuity of home cooks who maximized every resource.

In the early 1700s, household cooks used a brick or clay bread oven fired by wood. Apples were laid out in wide, shallow pans—often tin, copper, or ceramic—and dried using the gentle heat left over after bread baking. To encourage even drying, the apples were transferred to woven sieves or racks, set in a warm spot, and turned daily by hand. The process required patience, good judgment, and careful handling to prevent spoilage.