What to do with all those apples!?!

[PureCajunSunshine]

It's apple season...so what are your favorite things to do with them?

 

Applesauce? Dehydrated? Fruit leathers? What?

 

BTW, applesauce and apple leathers are good SHTF foods, especially in the face of a nuclear crisis. While this is by no means a 'cure' for radiation poisoning, it does not hurt that the pectin in the apples binds with heavy metals associated with radiation poisoning. The pectin (along with some of the bound metals) can be removed by the process of elimination. This helps your body to detox better. And of course, you know about how good applesauce is for you! Plus it is a comfort food that is easy to digest.

 

Speaking of applesauce, Mom11's post about the applesauce had me in stitches, from laughing so hard! Socks sticking to the floor? ... ROFL!

 

http://www.mrssurvival.com/forums/ubbthrea...8426#Post248426 It's the 19th post on that page.

 

Now I am scared! I just ordered two bushels of apples for the first time in my life. One bushel is what, 48 pounds? I had thought about making lots of applesauce until I read those posts!

 

It is getting cool enough here that maybe I can store some of them in a sort-of 'root cellar' that I made out of a clean galvanized trash can that is parked in the shade outside my kitchen door...(last winter I used it to dump my woodstove ashes into).

 

Speaking of root cellars, here's an excellent book for root cellars of every description:

 

Root Cellaring by Mike an Nancy Bubel. Published by Storey Publishing www.storey.com

 

Blurb on the front cover: "Keep your produce 'harvest fresh' in your own basement, porch, garage, or closet hideaway!"

 

It's a great resource and it's where I got the inspiration for the trashcan variety outlined above...

 

I plan on individually wrapping a few of the apples in a paper towel, then newspaper, before burying them between layers of straw inside the galvanized can. Maybe they'll last a little longer that way? I love fresh apples!

 

What I'll be doing with the rest of the apples:

 

Dehydrate (rings and apple leather)

 

Vinegar (peels and cores)

 

Applesauce

 

Open to other ideas...

 

What do you do with your apple harvests?

 

 

[PureCajunSunshine]

HOMEMADE PECTIN...

 

http://www.wildflowers-and-weeds.com/The_Forager/pectin.html

 

Making Your Own Apple Pectin

 

By Sam Thayer

From The Forager. Volume 1, Issue 3. August-September 2001

 

When making homemade jams and jellies, commercial powdered pectin is usually the most expensive ingredient. A few generations ago, powdered pectin wasn't readily available, and the skill of making pectin at home was common knowledge for the family cook - yet today it is a rare individual who knows how to do this. I learned how to extract pectin from apples a few years ago when I made jams and jellies for a living (as many as 600 jars per day). Not only does this save money, but more importantly, it provides the satisfaction that only comes with doing things from scratch - one of the reasons that I love using wild foods.

 

To prepare liquid apple pectin, it is best to use under-ripe apples that are still a bit green, hard, and sour. Ripe apples contain less pectin, but the level varies greatly from one tree to the next; some varieties are suitable when ripe, while some have virtually no pectin by that time. Over-ripe apples are the worst. You can use your damaged or misshapen apples for making pectin. Chop them in halves or quarters, fill a large pot, and then add just enough water to almost cover the apple chunks. Cover the pot and place it on low heat for a long time, until the apples are fully cooked and you have something that looks like runny applesauce with skins and seeds in it. Stir the apples every twenty minutes or so while they are cooking.

 

I arrange a strainer for this "sauce" by placing a cheese cloth (actually a white T-shirt) over the top of a five-gallon pail, secured by a cord tied around the rim. (A piece of cheese cloth in a colander works fine for smaller amounts.) The hot applesauce is then poured into the strainer; what drips out the bottom should be a clear, thick liquid that's a little bit slimy to the touch. That's your liquid apple pectin. I usually let mine strain overnight, because it drips slowly. You can get more pectin by pressing it, but then it comes out a little cloudy and carries more of the under-ripe apple flavor. I like to make a few gallons of this pectin at a time and then save it by canning or freezing - it's not hard to get a year's supply with one batch.

 

To test the strength of the pectin, pour a little bit of rubbing alcohol into a glass and then drop in a spoonful of pectin. The pectin will coagulate into a jelly-like mass. If this mass can be pulled out with a fork and it forms a heaping gob on the tines, it is concentrated enough to jell perfectly. If it can be picked up by the fork, but mostly hangs from it, then it will jell loosely. If it cannot be picked up by the fork in mostly one mass, then the concentration is too weak for it to jell. In this latter case, you just have to boil it down to increase the concentration of the pectin. (Note: the alcohol test doesn't work right if the pectin is hot.)

 

You can mix liquid apple pectin with fruit or juice and boil it down until the mixture has enough pectin to jell. This can be a little tricky. If you mix it with a fruit juice such as chokecherry that has little or no natural pectin in it, you will want to boil this mixture down to approximately the same volume as that of the pectin that you put in. If you mix it with high-pectin fruit such as wild grapes, you might only have to boil it down a little. Boiling the fruit-pectin mixture will not harm the flavor unless it cooks to the bottom of the pan, which will not happen if you keep stirring it as it boils. (An overcooked or burnt flavor is generally the result of cooking the jam for too long only after the sugar has been added.) I like to use liquid pectin instead of water to cover fruits such as currants or wild cherries when I boil them to extract the juice. After boiling down a little bit, such juice often has enough pectin to jell. If it is cooled down, the pectin concentration of the juice can be determined using the alcohol test described above. One great thing about apple pectin is that it can be used to dilute or balance the flavors of certain fruits that are not tart enough to make superb jam by themselves, such as elderberry and chokecherry.

 

When using homemade pectin, you can't just follow the proportions found on the chart in a Sure-Jell packet; you have to understand something about what makes jelly jell. Basically, there are two factors involved in this: the concentration of sugar and the concentration of pectin. Too little of either one, and you end up with syrup. It is possible to compensate for a little less sugar with more pectin, or vice-versa - but you can only stray from the recommended ratios a little bit. The most common reason that people have batches that do not jell is because they want to add less sugar than the recipe calls for. If you are going to make jam or jelly, you may as well accept right now that these confections are mostly sugar; that way, hopefully, you will avoid this temptation.

 

When you reckon that your fruit-pectin mixture is about right, mix in sugar at a ratio of about 5 cups of fruit-pectin (or juice) to 7 cups of sugar. Stir constantly - especially with jam - to keep it from burning to the bottom of the pan. After the jelly comes to a full, rolling boil, let it do so for about a minute. Then, if everything has been done right, it should be ready to pour into jars. If you are not confident, however, this is the stage for the final jelly test. Turn the heat down low when the boiling begins. Dip a large spoon into the mixture and then hold it over the pot sideways. If the last jelly falls off the spoon in a sheet rather than a drop, or if you get a drop that hangs down bulging at the bottom and doesn't fall (this happens especially with wooden spoons), then you're in business. If the jelly passes this test in either way, bring it briefly to a vigorous boil on high heat. Here you will find yet another indicator of whether it will jell or not. It will not just boil; it will boil up, get foamy, and probably make you scared that it will boil over. (If you don't turn the heat off soon enough, it will boil over.) This is when you pour the jam into clean mason jars and cover with clean lids. Turn the jars upside-down for a minute or two to sterilize the lids, right the jars, and try to ignore them for a few hours while they set. (Note that home canning of jam and jelly is not dangerous, and you do not need to sterilize the jars in a boiling-water bath or use a pressure canner!)

 

Hopefully this doesn't make the whole process seem harder than it is. Like many skills, once you learn how, it's a piece of cake. It may be encouraging to know that I never use the alcohol test anymore, and rarely even rely on the last jelly test. After making a number of batches, you can tell just by looking at the jelly if it's going to jell.

 

Is it worth all this trouble just to make your jam from scratch? Trouble? There's no trouble when I do it - just a lot of fun. And that's what it's all about.

 

[Vic303]

I just finished drying a large rubbermaid tub full of apples. Just cored and sliced--no peeling here. Ran them thru the dehydrator in daily batches until I FINALLY got done. I'd guess it was a bushel+ of apples.

[HSmom]

Definately dehydrate (rings), assuming the apples are in good condition. If they're "windfall" or otherwise damaged apples, applesauce is a good option, but too labor intensive for my taste.

 

[Violet]

Apple pie jam !!! It is so good. I really need to take time and make up some low sugar for myself. I have only made the full sugar version so far. Makes a lovely gift.

If you don't have one, those apple peeler/slicer/corer hand crank machines are great ! I found mine at the Goodwill for $4. Really saves me time.

A tip, I put down some old bath towels on the floor under the cutting board when using the peeler. Plus, I open up the drawers under and near it, too. Close a towel in the drawers. It will catch a lot of the splatters and saves me from a lot of sticky cleanup. Toss the towels in the wash and Voila ! it is mostly cleaned up.

 

[Darlene]

Where's the recipe Violet for the Apple pie jam?

 

gimmegimmegimme...lolol

[PureCajunSunshine]

I'm standing next in line for that recipe! Apple Pie Jam? With a name like that, I know it's gonna taste good, f'sure.

[MamaTiger]

Canned sliced apples

apple preserves

cider

jelly

 

these are the things I do most often with our apples

[mom11]

We found that, that rubber shelf lining stuff, works great for catching splatters. I use it for my shelf lining, and when it is icky, I just put it in the washer, then throw it over a chair to dry. I do this over and over again. I decided to put some under my KA, when Emma was straining all those apples. It worked great and didn't slide. Now I am going to go and buy rolls of the wider lining, and lay it all over the counters, and under, where we are working...When I am done, I will just wash it, let it dry, then save for the next time.

[Violet]

This has both white and brown sugar. I get so many requests for this:

 

APPLE PIE JAM

 

4 cups tart apples, peeled and finely chopped

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

4 cups sugar

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 box powdered pectin

1/2 teaspoon butter

 

Add water to chopped apples to measure 4 cups.(This is NOT 4 cups each, but water placed on top of the diced apples to come up to the 4 cup mark.) Place apples and water into large, heavy saucepan. Stir in lemon juice, cinnamon and allspice.

 

Measure sugars. Stir pectin into fruit. Add butter. Bring mixture to full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in both sugars. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

 

Ladle quickly into hot, clean jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands on finger tight. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

 

 

 

[PoGo]

I told my husband that I was going to make apple pie jam. He replied, "Do ya think the crust will get soggy?"

 

As he watched me peel the apples, he asked, "What ya gonna do with the peelings and cores, make apple broth?"

 

He's so punny!

[Violet]

Glad you are trying this recipe. You can make juice from those peels and make jelly or something. I save mine and add to other juices for my sugar free jellies.

[Peg]

I have been making flavored applesauce. I make the applesauce and just through in a pack or 2 of sugar free jello and process as usual. So far raspberry and cherry are the favorites around here.

[Violet]

It is my understanding that gelatin products should not be canned because they are an animal product. I am not sure of the ph level of them. I should see if I can find out more about this. Of course, there isn't any info in the USDA guidelines about that.

There are always more things that pop up that I need to find solid answers on.

Interesting question for me to research.

[PureCajunSunshine]

LOL @ Mr. & Mrs. Pogo!

 

Thanks for that recipe, Violet!! I can't wait to try it out. My mouth is watering!

 

I don't have 'tart' apples on hand, but the recipe should still be great (or should I increase the lemon juice a little bit)?

 

I am going to use those very same flavors in making apple leather...mmmmYEAH!!

 

[PoGo]

Apple Pie Leather! Sounds good, PureCajunSunshine.

 

[Darlene]

bump

 

I wanna make this tomorrow...lol

[sassenach]

It all sounds delicious. As to drying apples, how thick should one slice the rings ? I have to dehydrate since I do not have canning equipment, but I want alot of my food portable anyway, so dehydration for now.

Also, I want it really dry, what texture should the apple slices be when considered totally dry?

[Violet]

I like mine about 1/4 of an inch thick. I use my applepeeler/corer/slicer handcrank machine. Works really well.

I do not dip mine in anything. I just put on the trays and dry. Takes about 4 hours, or so.

Dry until they show no signs of moisture when you bend them. I like mine crispy. Normally I go by taste. I just eat one and see how dry it is.

I store mine in ziplocs in the freezer. You don't have to, but I just do for longtime storage.

[sassenach]

Thankyou Violet, that sounds good.

[Darlene]

bump

 

I'm still working on apples.

 

[Darlene]

Well, I just got done making 8 1/2 pints of the Apple Pie jam and it tastes awesome!

 

Of course, as usual, I kinda changed the recipe a little. I didn't add the alspice cause I don't like that flavor, and I used liquid pectin because I didn't have any powdered.

 

It's in the waterbath now, and it seems like it's going to set wonderfully!

[Cricket]

When dehydrating apples (or anything else for that matter) remember to take out a bit and let it cool before checking for doneness. It makes a difference in how crispy or leathery a product is if it is still warm from the dehydrator.

[Violet]

I am now wanting an Aebleskiver Pan. They are little round pancake things. You can put the apple pie jam in the middle of them. I didn't get to eat any on our recent anniversary trip due to my blood sugar being too high that morning. My husband said they were really good. The lady served them with apple cider and cinnamon syrup. That would be easy to can, too !

Darlene, there is a seperate recipe for the apple pie jam using liquid pectin online if you ever need it. I use powd. because it is cheaper to buy here than the liquid. Hope it gels for you. If not, you can always call it syrup ! Sometimes I add the allspice, sometimes I don't. It is all good.

 

 

[Darlene]

Well, so far they aren't setting...lolol

 

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...

 

If you could post the recipe for the liquid pectin recipe, I'd appreciate it. I tend to get the liquid pectin because I have a better success rate with it.