Have you ever been to an apple orchard and picked up more that you can possibly eat before they go bad? Most of us have. However, you could do several things with apples, before they start to turn to mush.
With apples being so cheap right now, here is how to take advantage of those great prices (that usually comes from buying apples in bulk) without having any waste!
Make Apple Sauce - Making applesauce is rather easy to do (you can even make applesauce in the your crock pot) and can be used for desserts or mid-day snacks. I love my homemade applesauce recipe (this is the one that is NOT made in the slow cooker). It will keep in the refrigerator for about 4 days (but may turn brown). If you want to really go nuts, you can make a huge pot of homemade applesauce and preserve the applesauce using the water bath method of canning.
You can even use apples to make spare ribs in your crock pot!
Make Apple Chips- Use a dehydrator to remove the liquid from the apple and seal into Ziploc bags. These can be easily packed into a kid’s lunch, or eaten as an afternoon snack. Apples provide a lot of nutrition and are much better for you than junk food. Don't have or want a dehydrator? Try my baked apple chips instead!
Baked Apples- Core the apple almost to the bottom skin, but make sure that you do not pierce it. Toss in some butter, sugar, cinnamon, and chopped walnuts into a bowl and mix well. Fill the core space with this mixture and then bake the apple at 350 until tender.
Batter Fried Apples - Batter fried apples are delicious, easy to make, and go well with pork dishes. Wash the apple, core it, and slice it into circles. Prepare a batter and dip the apple into it and deep fry. Serve alongside a pork dish.
Homemade Apple Juice - my daughter loves when I use my juicer to make her fresh apple juice (although I often water it down a bit for her). Like making homemade applesauce, this apple juice will keep for a few days in the refrigerator, but will gradually start turning brown. We think that Gala apples make for the best juice (with no sugar needed), but you might want to experiment with other varieties.
Make Apple Butter - we make our own apple butter every year and can it (using the water bath canning method) so that we can have it all year long. It would even make a great addition to a gift basket or teacher gift!
These 6 ways will help to use up your apple orchard pickings. Applesauce and dehydrated apples will be able to store for a long time without spoiling. Remember to bake some apple pies while you are at it! Apple pie and ice cream make a delicious treat.
I can't wait for boxes of apples!