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Trail Bytes, July 2025. Lemon Juice for Treating Apples & Keeping Cool.
July 03, 2025
Hello Chef,

Whew. It’s hot. We’re hitting record temperatures in Switzerland. The snow-covered peaks in the distance are not quite close enough to cool things down, even if they are an inspiration to look at.

Dominique and I are drinking lots of my refreshing lemon concoction; a wedge of lemon squeezed into a glass with a 50/50 mix of cold water and Schweppes bitter lemon.

Lemon juice was the highlight of this month’s featured experiments demonstrating the different methods of pretreating apples for dehydration to reduce oxidative browning. I tested ascorbic acid, lemon juice, and blanching, and evaluated the taste and color retention of each method compared to apples dehydrated with no pretreatment.

While I was at it, I updated the page about dehydrating apples.

The six fun apple dehydration projects cover:

  • Sliced Apples
  • Grated Apples
  • Pumpkin Spiced Baked Apples
  • Cooked Apples with Apricots
  • Applesauce Fruit Leather
  • Apple-Granola Clusters

Photo: Apples soaking for 10 minutes in pretreatment solution.

New Healthy Granola Recipe

I’ve been making homemade granola for several years now. Along the way I’ve made changes to the original recipes. The updated page features a simplified granola recipe (no pre-toasting of ingredients) and it’s made with less maple syrup or honey. It’s easier to make, and healthier to eat.

The recipe for Apple-Granola Clusters is on the updated page, along with other fruity combinations.

Explore this month’s projects on these pages:

How to Pretreat Apples for Dehydrating.

Dehydrating Apples: Six Fun Projects for Apple Lovers.

How to Make Granola with Healthy Ingredients.

Last month we hiked the Stoos Ridge from Klingenstock to Fronalpstock in central Switzerland. If you look in the left corner of the photo, you can see that little bit of snow I mentioned, but on the ridge it was hot, hot, hot. This hike features a ride partway up and through the mountain on the world’s steepest funicular train, which somehow keeps the people inside level. Then you ride a chair lift up to Klingenstock, hike the ridge, and catch another chair lift down from Fronalpstock.

On hikes like these, we carry another one of our favorite concoctions; an insulated bottle filled with a mix of water, apple juice, cranberry juice, and the juice of one lemon.

We rounded out June with a weekend getaway over the border to Colmar, the “Little Venice” of France. If you like al fresco dining, this is the place to go. It was hot, so we opted for an afternoon at the Unterlinden Museum rather than a hike on a nearby trail. Another little trick I thought of to stay cool was to fill a soda bottle halfway with apple juice and freeze it with the bottle on its side. Before heading out to explore the village, I filled it the rest of the way with cold water.

How do you stay cool in the summer?

Shoot me a reply with your most refreshing concoctions, any hydration gear choices, or strategies you follow to keep the heat at bay.

Thanks for reading Trail Bytes. Stay cool, and we’ll see you next month.

Freundliche Grüsse,

Chef Glenn & Dominique

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