Homemade unsweetened apple chips

Towards the end of autumn, the market was flooded with so many apples at such a bargain price that I just couldn't resist getting a bunch. Needless to say, my new project became finding 1001 ways to consume and preserve these apples. Given what common equipment we have at home, one idea that came to mind was to make some apple chips. 


Recipe: Homemade unsweetened apple chips (a snack for 2)


Ingredients:
- 1 medium apple
- 2 tablespoon of lemon juice


Procedure:
Wash the apple, peel off skin and remove core. Cut to very thin slices slightly less than 1/8" thick. Place the apple slices in a bowl and coat all sides with lemon juice for 3 minutes. (The lemon juice helps keep the color of the apple, but adds lemon taste to the fruit. If the color of the apple isn't totally important, the lemon juice can be skipped.) Place the slices on stainless steel grid that fits into the toaster oven. Do not use aluminum or other metal grids because the acid from the fruit reacts with the metal. Place in the toaster oven and let heat at 200F for about 30-40 minutes or until the surfaces of the pieces are mostly dry. Toaster oven's temperatures vary, so judge readiness based on the texture of the apple instead of minutes. Loosen pieces from grid and flip. Continue to heat for another 30 minutes or until the pieces become very dry. The inside of the slices may still be a little moist. Turn off heat and let sit in oven until the slices become totally crispy (about 4-6 hours). Reheat oven for a few seconds every now and then, if necessary. Loosen the slices occasionally to prevent sticking to the grid. Thinner slices tend to become crispy faster. Take them out of oven first and let cool in a dry place. Towards the end, the thicker slices in the oven may still be moist inside and they need further heating. Watch out that the half-dried apple slices brown very quickly. Try to avoid browning as much as possible. Serve chips when cooled. Allow to cool completely (about 40 minutes out of oven) before storing. Do not store any apple slices that are still moist/soft inside. Pack in air-tight containers and store in cool places.