How to Carve Shrunken Head Apples

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posted on 18 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Do you need a Granny face for a doll? Perhaps you'd like to do something ghoulish for Halloween? Or are you looking for a new carving medium? If you've got a stash of apples in your pantry, you can use them for all of the above. Folk dolls made from carved apples have been around at least since the settlers of early rural America made dolls from whatever was plentiful at the time. Carved apple heads can last for years if dried properly and painted or sprayed with sealant. Here's an interesting way to preserve your apples...

Steps

Thoroughly wash the apple with water.

Peel the apple.

Core the apple.

Soak the apple in a mixture of lemon juice and salt (1 cup of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of salt) for about 15-30 minutes. This will keep the apple from turning dark.

Carve the face as desired, exaggerating the features. Draw the face first with water based markers. Do not worry too much about it because as the apple dries, your "mistakes" will shrink. Plus, center are delicious, and so "failed" carvings can be eaten on the spot.

Dip your "finished" face in the lemon juice mixture again.

Place the apple in a food dehydrator or in a warm, dry, well ventilated place. You can insert a wire into the apple to hang it, pierce the center with a long skewer and put it in a vase, or place it on a rack. Make sure air reaches the entire surface of the apple so that it dries evenly. See Warnings.

Turn the apple over every 12 hours or so until dry. It'll feel "spongy" when it's done. Core holes expand when drying.Note: Core holes will expand when drying. Head One-Seen in Step 6, above.Even the most rudimentary of carvings yield an interesting "face".