Ideas for eating apples?

[Islay]

I've got to find something to do with pounds and pounds and pounds of eating apples. I don't know what variety they are, but they've got very red skin, sklightly pink flesh, and are appalling keepers, so won't store for any length of time.

Can I use them in the same way as cookers and perhaps add some pectin to make jelly and things? Any tips much appreciated!

 

[jessejames]

cider!!

 

[patandchickens]

You could make applesauce - a lot of the early crop, poor-keeping apples are especially good for applesauce. Applesauce can then be frozen or canned in a waterbath.

If you have enough underripe ones, and follow an old-style recipe that leaves skins and cores in, you might well have enough pectin already there to make apple jelly 'straight up', no added pectin (tho it will probably be softer set than the storeboughten stuff you can practically cut into cubes). Or if you want to use commercial pectin, you could consider making "apple jam" where yu essentially make applesauce and then add extra sugar and liquid pectin to it -- personally I like it as well as apple jelly and b/c there is no jelly bag or testing for jellying-point involved, it is much faster and more idiotproof. The box the liquid pectin comes in will have an insert that generally includes a recipe - look under 'cooked jams' for 'apple'.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Beekissed]

Apple butter, apple sauce, apple pie filling, apple juice, dried apples, apple jelly and jam.

 

[Islay]

Thank you for all the ideas! I'll post back tomorrow and let you know what was successful. I'm hoping the nice pink apples might turn everything an attractive girly shade...

 

[big brown horse]

Haha you have girly apples!! Just joshing Islay, they sound pretty.

I would love to know how to make cider and then cider vinegar. Would we need a press? (Saw one on craigslist for 75 bones, I wish I wasn't broke. )

I have about 7 apple trees all of different varieties, I am about to have a boat load of apples, so I am so happy you started this thread.

 

[Beekissed]

The Back to Basics book shows a way to make a press with some lumber and a car jack.

I'm just going to juice alot of mine and can the juice and make vinegar also. Some will go to applesauce and pie filling, some to animals.

I'm really looking forward to making the vinegar and seeing if the unpastuerized vinegar makes a difference in my flock/animal's health and fertility.

 

[BeccaOH]

Save a few just to slice and dip in natural peanut butter. YUM!

 

[Islay]

I do not like peanuts.

I did, however, make a small test batch of plum and girly-pink-apple jam, which was absolutely gorgeous, and is practically barbie-doll pink, which pleases me no end! Annoyingly, the baby decided he was bored right at the end, so I didn't have time to skim (I love eating the skimmed foam off the top of jam ), so it's got foam in it, but it's still yummy and cool pink!

I'll post the recipe tomorrow, assuming the little man decides to give me thirty seconds rest. I've also got high hopes for some fruity chutney

 

[FarmerDenise]

I posted this elsewhere, but I made apple juice/cider yesterday. I used the blender to puree the apples. I had to add water to each batch, but it did work.
I added about a cup of water to the blender and then kept whizzing the quartered apples in it, til the jar was nearly full and my blender was protesting. Then I poured the mash into a cone shaped collander that I had set up over a five gallon bucket (food grade). The collander frame thingy fit over the bucket nicely. I used a wooden spoon to stir the mash in the collander and get as much juice as possible out. I put the pomace in a bowl and when I finished "juicing" all the apples I had, I put the pomace in a jelly bag and let it drip overnight. This morning I squeezed the remaining juice out of the pomace bag and covered the bucket with a towel to keep bugs, cat hair and such out of my cider.
Since I am attempting to make apple cider vinegar I am not going to bother straining the liquid yet.
I used apples that had fallen onto the ground and did not remove most of the brown spots, I did however remove the pits as best I could, since I planned on feeding the pomace to the chickens. It turns out I needn't have bothered,since the chickens didn't touch the stuff. I did remove the moldy spots that I found on two large apples.

If I were trying to make juice or sweet cider, I would have been more carefull to remove the brown spots and then strained the juice through a cloth to remove the remaining solids. Then I would have refridgerated the juice.
I may do that, if I can get more apples from my friend. Our own apple tree is only three years old and does not produce very many apples yet. It is a dwarf tree with 5 different kinds of apples on it. The dog seems to think it is her personal ball growing tree. She keeps picking the apples off and brings them to us to play fetch. :/


ETA: We are on well water and therefore there is no added chlorine in our water. If you are trying to ferment something, be sure to use unchlorinated water as chlorine kills the yeastie beasties. Something I learned working at wineries.