Apple Ideas!

[aggieterpkatie]

I have 2 bushels of apples, one of Golden Delicious and one of Rome. The Rome's were a little disappointing...nice and crisp but pretty "dry" and not too sweet.

I'm definitely doing applesauce/butter with the Golden Delicious. I'm also going to dry a good bit because I love snacking on dried apples. What are some other ideas? I was thinking maybe canning some pie filling. Is 1 qt of apples enough for a pie? Does it make for good pies?

 

[JRmom]

Apple pie jelly! Just add apple pie spices to your jelly recipe.

 

[VickiLynn]

You could can or freeze some plain apples to use later on for crisps, etc.

 

[calendula]

When we have a bunch of extra apples, we peel, core, and slice them. Then we bag up about 3 cup portions using our food saver and freeze them, but you could just use some kind of freezer containers. It's very convenient having frozen apples all cut up and ready to use for pie, apple cake (I have a very good recipe for apple cake somewhere that I'll have to find), apple crisp, and so on.

 

[sufficientforme]

A quart does not fill a pie the way I like it so I use a quart and a pint

 

[k15n1]

I've processed about 4 bushels so far this year---2 more to go. After making a lot of applesauce, I realized that it's much more efficient to make cider! No need to peel or core. I cut the apples in half to check for worms, hack off the bruised spots, and throw them in the scratter. The yield, for back-yard processing, is about 3 gal per bushel. I've heard that commercial operations can sometimes get up to 5 gal per bushel!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Is there a trick in keeping the texture good for frozen apples? I've frozen apples in the pie-tin shape before and when I made a pie with it it turned out all mushy and gross. :/

And what is the process for jelly making? I've made jam before. Is it similar or do I need to get a jelly bag and all that?

 

[k15n1]

Is there a trick in keeping the texture good for frozen apples?

Yes, there are a few tricks. They apply to almost everything you freeze, actually. Limit the amount of air in the container and make the container as air-tight as possible. Usually, double bagging will do the trick, especially if you squeeze out the air.

You can also can apple slices. If you're going to cook with them, you don't even need to pack them in syrup.

 

[calendula]

From what I understand, the apple variety plays a big part in whether or not they will freeze well. The golden delicious usually keeps a pretty good texture when frozen, but I'm not sure about the Rome. And you can soak them in salt water after you slice them so they don't turn brown, then drain well. I have never had a problem with my frozen apples getting too mushy in my baked goods, they just soften like usual. But, I get my apples from my grandma, and I have no idea which variety they are.

 

[calendula]

Is there a trick in keeping the texture good for frozen apples?

Yes, there are a few tricks. They apply to almost everything you freeze, actually. Limit the amount of air in the container and make the container as air-tight as possible. Usually, double bagging will do the trick, especially if you squeeze out the air.

You can also can apple slices. If you're going to cook with them, you don't even need to pack them in syrup.

Maybe that's why my apples haven't gotten mushy. We use our food saver, which vacuum seals the bags.