Whether you want to take advantage of the low prce of apples at the grocery store, you’re recevng too many apples n a farm share, or you went overboard wth apple pckng, havng too many apples s actually a great problem to have! To make t less overwhelmng for you, though, I wanted to share some of my favorte tps and recpes to help you use up the apples.
Apples: A Favorte Fall Frut
Apples are a guaranteed wnner n my house pretty much all year-round, but when they’re at ther peak n the late summer and fall, we’re completely apple crazy n my house. In fact, I thnk I mght have a problem. I pretty sure that I am addcted to apple pckng.
Every late summer I am overjoyed when my farm share enters nto apple season. But even wth the 6 (!) pounds of apples that I get from the farm share each week, I am stll powerfully drawn to apple pckng, whch means by late September or early October I end up wth a frdge packed wth apples.
It feels lke a seasonal rght of passage. It’s a famly outng that I refuse to pass up and that even my teen sons stll enjoy. Why s ths a problem, you mght ask? Whle t’s admttedly a good problem to have, the realty s that the result of my apple pckng enthusasm s a frdge packed wth apples that I then have to use up or store, rght when our schedules are at ther busest.
If ths sounds famlar, then read on to learn about some smple ways to store and use up those apples, so that you can enjoy them all wnter long.
Tps on Storng Apples
When properly stored, apples can last for up to sx months! Here are some tps on how to store your apples.
Inspect Your Apples
When I come home wth a bg batch of apples, whether from apple pckng or the farm share, I go through and pull out any that have bruses or blemshes. These wll be the apples we eat and cook wth frst as those mperfectons wll cause them to spol more quckly and can rsk spolng a whole batch of apples (the “one bad apple” sayng s actually true!).
I also try my best to set asde the apples have stll have ther stems attached as ths wll also help them to last longer.
Store n a Cool, Humd Spot
Apples lke to be kept between at between 30 and 35 degrees Fahrenhet and n a place wth 90% humdty. Know where you can fnd those sorts of condtons? In the crsper drawer of your frdge!
Note: If you choose to store them n your crsper drawer, I recommend keepng them separate from your other produce as they do release a gas, ethylene, that can speed up the spolng process for other produce.
Not enough room n you frdge for all those apples? The next best spot s somewhere n the house that s cool and dark, such as an unheated room n your basement, an unheated garage, a screened n porch, or even a cold, un-nsulated closet (f you’ve got an old house that has one).
If you’re storng them outsde of the frdge, t s recommended that you ndvdually wrap the apples n butcher paper, newsprnt, or paper towels and then ple them n a cardboard or wooden box.
Make Apple Sauce!
Makng apple sauce has the reputaton of beng a lot of work, but f you don’t peel the apples (I’ll get to that n a sec.), t’s actually a pretty quck and easy project and the results are so much better than the jarred stuff at the grocery store! You can fnd the full recpe at the end of ths post, but here are some of my favorte tps for makng apples sauce:
Don’t Peel the Apples
Many apple sauce recpes out there wll have you peel the apples. Don’t do t! Not only s t a tme consumng step, but the peels actually contan a lot of fber and vtamns that are benefcal. Plus, f you keep the peel on, the apple sauce wll have a much ncer color to t.
Cut nto Chunks, Not Slces
Whle slcng apples s better for apple pes and some other apple recpes, apple sauce s a much more forgvng thng and as long as the chunks are more or less the same sze, your apples wll cook quckly and easly.
Use an Immerson Blender to Purée
I spent years carefully transferrng very hot apples from the pot to ether my food mll or the food processor n order to purée them nto apple sauce. Whle both of these tools work very effectvely, the much easer (and less dangerous) way to purée your apples nto apple sauce s by usng your mmerson blender. It wll blend everythng up quckly, easly, and wthout all the stress.
Freeze Your Apple Sauce
Any apple sauce that you won’t use n the next week or so can and should be frozen (or canned). To freeze t, decant the sauce nto contaners or freezer bags, leavng some room for expanson. Leave the contaners open/uncovered on your counter untl the sauce has cooled to room temperature, close up, and then freeze. It wll safely last 6-9 months n the freezer.
You can defrost frozen apple sauce on your counter or t can be mcrowaved or heated n a small pot for faster defrostng.
Recpes to Use Up Apples
Here are some of my favorte ways to enjoy apples.
Mcrowaved Baked Apples
These are a much faster and easer verson of the fall classc, baked apples. By usng your mcrowave, you cut the cookng tme down consderably, makng ths a fun and healthy weeknght dessert opton.
ABC (Apple-Bacon-Cheddar) Frttata
Ths s one of my famly’s favorte frttatas! The crunchy sweetness of the apple adds so much fun and flavor to ths classc dsh. You can serve ths as a smple weeknght meal or use t as a make-ahead breakfast opton for easer mornngs.
Apple & Bre Quesadllas wth Mango Chutney
Sweet, crunchy, creamy, and salty. These quesadllas are so much fun! My kds love them n ther school lunches and I love them on super busy weeknghts when tme s of the essence.
Apple, Cabbage, and Gorgonzola Slaw
If you are a coleslaw fan (or even f you’re a skeptc), ths slaw s for you! So much crunch, a lttle sweetness, and the tangy bte of the gorgonzola make ths an absolute wnner.
Homemade Apple Sauce
Ingredents
Instructons
Notes
Nutrton
To get delcous recpes lke ths year round, sgn up for The Scramble’s weekly meal planner. It takes the stress and guesswork out of famly dnners and helps you get an easy and healthy meal on the table n no tme.
Do you have favorte ways to use up apples? Share them n the comments!
Apple Memories: Picking your own in Rhode Island
Monday 16th of September 2019
[…] pay by the pound, getting more than enough apples to bake all your pies, crumbles, crisps, and more for the fall season while also leaving plenty to eat on their […]