I just love apples. You know why? Not only are they delicious, but they’re also versatile, great for storing and canning, readily available in the fall, and kids also love them.
So what do you do when you’re able to get a whole trunk full of apples? (Seriously, we filled the back of our SUV). You don’t waste them! We were able load up on late season apples again this year, and I wanted to share the many ways that we’re able to cook, can, and store apples so that we don’t waste our bounty and can enjoy apples in many forms for months to come.
The simplest way to store apples (beside just stuffing your refrigerator with whole apples) is freezing. Using an apple peeler/corer, first get your apples peeled and sliced. This peeler/corer tool has been super helpful. https://amzn.to/3SwUM0K
I then simply cut the spiraled apples in half, then spread out the slices on parchment paper. Flash freezing in layers prevents the apples from freezing into one big clump. Once they’re frozen on the trays you can transfer them to bags. Frozen apple slices can be used in baking, but I usually just use them in smoothies. With three little kids, we make A LOT of smoothies.
Apples can also be frozen in several forms in “souper cubes.” I love these containers for freezing a lot of small portions of food, like shredded zucchini, shredded carrots, homemade broth, and raw eggs when we have a surplus. The container can be purchased here: https://amzn.to/464Uph0
I like to use the 1/2 cup size, but it’s also available in other sizes. They’re flexible, so it’s easy to pop the frozen cubes out, and they’re easy to clean.
Apples can be saved in souper cubes after being shredded or diced. Then you have portioned and prepped apples ready to go for baking or adding to oatmeal. I also had some leftover apple butter that didn’t fit in a jar when I was canning, so the extra went into the freezer this way.
For a lot more ideas about freezing produce, check out the book Freeze Fresh by Crystal Schmidt. It has some great ideas and recipes, and can be purchased here: https://amzn.to/47phlZt
While cutting up apples for the freezer trays, we also load up the trays for the freeze dryer. We pre-freeze our trays in the freezer to reduce freezing time in our freeze dryer. The freeze-dried apples are stored in mylar bags and can last a long time. Though, with as much as my kids like snacking on them, they won’t last all that long.
Another easy way to preserve apples and make a great snack is using a dehydrator. We use an Excalibur dehydrator found here: https://amzn.to/3soyROw. Apple chips can be made plain, or with cinnamon. Some people also add some lemon juice to their apples prior to dehydrating to prevent browning, but I skip this step and have never had an issue with brown apples. They may darken just a bit but it doesn’t change the flavor. If you’re looking for more ideas for using a dehydrator, I’ve found this book quite helpful: https://amzn.to/3QZ4Z4V
This year I also canned apples in several ways, so we can enjoy shelf stable snacks and spreads for many months. Last year I was able to make enough apple butter for the whole year!
In quart jars, I canned plain applesauce and sliced apples. In pint and half pint jars, I canned apple butter, apple jam, and apple-orange preserves. My applesauce was made plain. The sliced apples were done according to the Ball Canning recipe book. I used the recipes for Extra-light syrup using sugar, and another batch just using honey. I’ve never done either, so I didn’t want to do too many in case we don’t like them canned this way or just don’t use a lot of them.
I used my own apple butter recipe that I make in the crockpot. Several versions of this can be found on various websites. In a large 7-quart crock pot filled with sliced apples, I just use 1 cup raw sugar, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, and some spices.
For the Apple-Orange Preserves, I started with the Ball Canning recipe for Apple Preserves, but changed it a bit as I didn’t have a lemon on hand, but I had an orange, and also reduced the amount of sugar in the recipe.
For Apple Jam, I used the recipe found here, and reduced the sugar. It still came out so delicious! Apple Pie Jam {for canning} – The Jam Jar Kitchen
I hope you’ve enjoyed these easy ideas for using and preserving apples. These ideas can also be used for different foods to help reduce wasted food and prepare food for later use.
Enjoy!
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