With their house being built in a former apple orchard, my parents have something like 7 apple trees in their yard. So every year, they have lots of apples and they're willing to share with me! I really love food made from apples. There are several ways I preserve apples so we can take advantage of this harvest.
1. Freezing apples: This is a less-common way to preserve apples but I really like it. I use my apple-peeler-corer (which is the greatest invention) and then cut up the apples a little bit more to make about 6 cups of sliced, peeled apples. I put them in a gallon-size freezer bag, add a tablespoon or so of lemon juice, and then stick it in the freezer. That's it! It's really easy. I use the bags of apples in apple crisp or apple pie through the winter. Those recipes go so much faster when the apples are all ready to go.
2. Applesauce: A few weeks ago, my children and I made 42 quarts of applesauce during fall break. It was really tiring and next time maybe I won't be so ambitious without a little more help. But it's great to have all those quarts in the pantry. Applesauce is a little more work. We cut up the apples a little, especially if there were worm holes, cooked them until they were soft, and then put them through the applesauce maker. I only use this machine about once a year but I've had it more than 20 years and it has held up really well. After I mix in some sugar, I process it in a hot water bath for half an hour. The 4 oldest children helped me for about an hour each and it took me about 6 hours to finish the whole job. The kitchen got really messy and it took me about 45 minutes to clean it up. It uses a lot of apples!
3. Dehydrating apples: I didn't actually dry any apples this year. The apple harvest was a little smaller than usual and I made so much applesauce that I didn't have many apples left over. And no one ate them last year besides my husband and me. But it's not hard and I'll definitely be doing it again.
4. Apple dumplings: This is not technically a way to preserve apples, except in your stomach! This is actually a really delicious dessert but I only make it about once a year. I get the recipe out of Better Homes and Gardens with a few small modifications (no salt, a little less butter, no nuts or raisins, and I just use the cinnamon sugar we have for toast). My apple dumplings are not nearly as beautiful as theirs--I'm a lot more interested in just getting it done and it took me about half an hour. But I think they probably taste just as good.
1. Freezing apples: This is a less-common way to preserve apples but I really like it. I use my apple-peeler-corer (which is the greatest invention) and then cut up the apples a little bit more to make about 6 cups of sliced, peeled apples. I put them in a gallon-size freezer bag, add a tablespoon or so of lemon juice, and then stick it in the freezer. That's it! It's really easy. I use the bags of apples in apple crisp or apple pie through the winter. Those recipes go so much faster when the apples are all ready to go.
2. Applesauce: A few weeks ago, my children and I made 42 quarts of applesauce during fall break. It was really tiring and next time maybe I won't be so ambitious without a little more help. But it's great to have all those quarts in the pantry. Applesauce is a little more work. We cut up the apples a little, especially if there were worm holes, cooked them until they were soft, and then put them through the applesauce maker. I only use this machine about once a year but I've had it more than 20 years and it has held up really well. After I mix in some sugar, I process it in a hot water bath for half an hour. The 4 oldest children helped me for about an hour each and it took me about 6 hours to finish the whole job. The kitchen got really messy and it took me about 45 minutes to clean it up. It uses a lot of apples!
3. Dehydrating apples: I didn't actually dry any apples this year. The apple harvest was a little smaller than usual and I made so much applesauce that I didn't have many apples left over. And no one ate them last year besides my husband and me. But it's not hard and I'll definitely be doing it again.
4. Apple dumplings: This is not technically a way to preserve apples, except in your stomach! This is actually a really delicious dessert but I only make it about once a year. I get the recipe out of Better Homes and Gardens with a few small modifications (no salt, a little less butter, no nuts or raisins, and I just use the cinnamon sugar we have for toast). My apple dumplings are not nearly as beautiful as theirs--I'm a lot more interested in just getting it done and it took me about half an hour. But I think they probably taste just as good.
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| Their beautiful apple dumpling--I don't think I could even do this if I wanted to! |
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| My version--still very delicious |
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