Any Tips on Preserving Apples?

[mace242]

We have a few trees in our garden, mostly apples and pears with a few plums. The plums I turn into jams and freeze. I freeze quite a few of the apples but I'm looking on anything else I can do to preserve them. Any ideas? Forgot to say that I do dry loads too. Anything other than drying, freezing and chutneys, all of which I currently do?

 

[slowworm]

Cider? Some types of apples store quite well just wrapped lightly and put in a cool dry place. Check them from time to time to remove any that go bad and only store sound, undamaged ones.

 

[dommyracer]

Toffee Apples?

 

[Bernie Garland]

I'd go for cider also.

Bernie

 

[fishy1]

Make jelly.

 

[sandsnakes]

This is what the Victorians did.
Store in cool/cold area, dry and out of light. Sit them on a little spiral of news paper, the surfaces should not touch. Get some of those paper trays they pack peaches in from a green grocers. Use them. Check once a week for mould. They will shrink but will be nice until about march.

Sandsnakes

 

[mace242]

Thanks - will be giving that a go. We have an old style larder in our house with a granite cold shelf - at the moment it has loads of stuff on it but with some re-arranging then I'll be using that. Know if pears can be done the same way?

 

[spamel]

I'm interested in this too as there is a small orchard nest to me and the apples are great. last year, the pears were like wood, so hopefully they'll be better this year.

Can you store peaches in a jar, peeled and covered in boiled water with a tonne of sugar dissolved in it? I'd imagine they'd be liked canned peaches.

 

[spamel]

Sounds very much like apfelmus Toddy. My wife first introduced me to apfelmuss on a potato type fritter thingy. It's some sort of german thing, I didn't take to it too well! I like to eat apples, but apple juice or cider, or an apple mush doesn't do it for me I'm afraid. Apple pie on the other hand is truly a food fit for a King!

 

[Toddy]

I must look that one up Spam
I also like apple chutney, is that the sort of thing the Apfelmus is like? We usually colour it with rowans and add spices to the cider vinegar to make it.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[mace242]

Sounds excellent. Thanks.

 

[spamel]

Apflemuss is a mush! I don't think anything else is added to it, it has the consistency of baby food.

 

[Toddy]

Ah, I know the stuff you mean, now. I bought a jar of it in Lidl's last year and was rather disappointed. Like boiled silly, chopped, apples with no sweetness or tartness.....baby food's a good description.
No, the apple spread is more like treacle or malt extract, and full of flavour.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[chickenofthewoods]

If you decide to keep them in a cool store, don't have the apples in the same place as your spuds though.

This is useful: http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/fallick41.html

I want a root cellar.

When we make cider we omit the cores and other detritus and then season & cook up the resulting 'cheese' after pressing (squished apple leftovers). It goes into apple pies or we jar it up for pie filling. You can also put a percentage of that into something like mincemeat, ready for you Christmas minced tarts (the addition of Brandy helps preserve the mixture). A last idea is using it as the basis for a fruit leather mixed with other more flavoursome ingredients. I have yet to try that though. If you run out of ideas for using the leftovers, it can still be composted or fed to the pigs (if you have any).

Oh, and don't forget dehydrated apple rings (sorry if that's already been suggested!). Very tasty and very good in flapjacks, on cereal, as a snack.....

 

[mace242]

This is useful: http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/fallick41.html

Duly bookmarked. Thanks.

 

[DarkFlib]

If you dice the apples into 1cm cubes and then rince with lemon juice (diluted) then you can dry them reliably in a solar dryer.

Once the moisture content gets below about 7% then most moulds wont grow, they also retain a lot of their nutrients, so its a good method.

Just remember to put them in an airtight jar once they are dried.

 

[Tony]

Better than jam or jelly or stewed and frozen..... apple spread

Wash apples, chop roughly and cover with water. Bring up to a simmer and keep hot until they're mush.
Strain through a fine sieve and then return the juice to the washed out pan. Simmer low and stir often until the liquid reduces to a thick sticky cream. Jar and seal. Keeps as well, if not better than jam, needs no extra sugar, tastes like sort of toffee apples, great on toast, brilliant in the cold of Winter in hot water with some cinnamon......pears are even better

Method two....more footery but worth it.
Peel and core the washed apples (or pears) Simmer as before in water and reduce to the sticky paste, *then* spread on sheets of baking parchement and use in the dehydrator.....absolutely manna


Cheers,
Toddy......who's watching the glut of apples growing on the tree with a kind of appalled horror, I hate waste, but there're tons of them this year

Toddy, bring some to the Moot and we'll make a load of apple sauce in the big pot

I'm also going to copy your post to the Recipe thread in the Full Members area, hope you don't mind

 

[JohnC]

You could try dehydrating sliced apples, they keep for ages.

 

[carla]

i seem to remember apple butter from my childhood in north america. im not sure how to make it but may well be just cooking apples forever till they reach a thick smooth yummy consistancy mmmmm

 

[Celt_Ginger]

Apple and blackberry jam. I love it on malted bread.