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Recipes Using Apples


Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 108 Posts
September 18, 2009

apples in a basketWhen I think of fall, my mind goes to new pencils and pumpkins and, of course, apples. If you are lucky enough to have an orchard near you, this is the time of year to go and get yourself a bushel of apples. You will need to set aside a weekend and gather some good friends but it will be well worth the work and effort that you put into your apples. In this article, I am going to give you directions for making applesauce and some other goodies. But first let's talk about apples.

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Buy in Season

Modern refrigeration has changed the way that we look at fruits. Most fruit is available at any time in any area, and it is easy to forget that fruit is seasonal and is actually being grown somewhere. All fruit has an optimum season when flavor, freshness and nutritional value are at their peak.

Buy Locally

Every region of the country has its own distinctive varieties, and a visit to the orchard will help you discover which ones are best in your area. When you buy local produce, there are many benefits. Supporting local growers helps preserve family farms. Strong local agriculture is a check on sprawl. Buying locally is the best way to be sure you are putting the most nutritious food on your table. Buying fruit at the orchard is a lot more fun than pushing a shopping cart. Here is a website where you can go to find a local orchard near you:

When Buying:

Look for smooth skin with few bruises. Too many bruises mean the apple may rot. Apples should be stored in the refrigerator, not necessarily the crisper. Choose apples with a bright and sparkly color. Don't buy bagged apples on sale. Apples arrive at stores preserved with nitrogen. After the nitrogen seal is broken, produce managers know they have 23 days to sell the apples. They bag apples for a quick sale after they hit about the 20 day mark.
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When Storing:

Apples keep best when refrigerated. Store them in a plastic bag or the drawer to keep them fresh. When you buy apples, put them in a clean plastic bag (a bread bag works well), close it with a twist-tie and make a dozen holes in the bag. That allows ethylene gas to escape but also helps the apples retain moisture. Check them often. Remove any decayed apples. One rotten apple can indeed spoil the whole barrel! Raw, cut apples may darken. Prevent this by dipping them in a fruit juice; lemon, orange, grapefruit, or pineapple, before adding other ingredients. If peeling a lot of apples, squeeze lemon juice on them or put them in a bowl of water with lemon juice added to keep them from browning. The higher the sugar content of the apple, the quicker the cut apple turns brown. Fuji apples brown less quickly than many others.
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There are many varieties of apples. Some are great for making pies and some are great for just eating.

Apple Equivalents, Measures, and SubstitutionsApples are: fat free; saturated fat free; sodium free; cholesterol free; and an excellent source of fiber.

Here are some recipes to get you started on your apple adventure. Don't be afraid to substitute different types of apples in any recipe. Or to use 2 or 3 different kinds as long as you stick with all eating apples or all cooking apples.

Drying Apples

Select firm textured apples for drying. To prepare the fruit, wash and slice into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices. Pre-treat with a lemon juice/water solution (1 cup of lemon juice to 1 quart of water) or an ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) solution to prevent browning. Place slices onto drying rack. Dry fruit at 135 degrees F. When fruit is pliable and there is no sign of moisture it can be stored in air tight bags or jars. After proper drying, apples and pears will keep in a cool, dry place from six months to a year.

Iced Apple Tea

Ingredients

Directions

Add tea bags to boiling water. Let stand 15 minutes. Remove and add allspice, honey and apple juice. Simmer over low heat until honey is blended, about one minute. Chill. Serve over ice with lemon slices.

Baked Apples

Ingredients

Directions

Core apples without cutting through the bottom end. Peel about one third of way down. Place in baking dish. Mix sugar, raisins, cinnamon and nutmeg and fill centers of apples. Dot with margarine and pour water into baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees F about 50-60 minutes or until apples are tender.

Apple Pie

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare your pastry for a two crust pie. Wipe, quarter, core, peel, and slice apples; measure to 6 cups. Combine sugar and cinnamon. The amount of sugar used depends on how tart your apples are. Arrange apples in layers in pastry lined pie plate. Sprinkle each layer with sugar and cinnamon. Dot top layer with small pieces of butter or margarine. Cover with top crust. Place on lowest rack in oven preheated to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake for 30 to 35 minutes longer. Serve warm or cold.

Apple Butter

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the apples in the liquid until soft. Pass through a food mill. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar for each cup of puree. Add the spices, rind and lemon juice and cook over very low heat until thick and dark brown. This may take 3 to 4 hours. If not to be used within a week or two, pour into hot sterilized jars and seal tightly. This can also be put into plastic jars and frozen.

Applesauce

Ingredients

Directions

Core and quarter apples. Put in a heavy saucepan with a closely fitting lid, add water, and cook over low heat until very soft. Puree through a food mill and add sugar and cinnamon. This can be frozen in jars or plastic zip lock bags.

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Susan Sanders-Kinzel
September 27, 2003

Information about apples, what kinds are for eating, which for applesauce, for pies, plus lots of recipes.

Photo of red apples.

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Silver Post Medal for All Time! 390 Posts
April 2, 2011

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9 inch square baking pan.

Stir together apples, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup flour in large bowl. Spread in prepared pan; dot with 2 tablespoons butter.

 
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October 27, 2008

Our local apple orchard has windfall apples free for the taking. What options are there for using these apples in recipes and does anyone have recipes for these apples?

Answers

Anonymous
October 27, 20080 found this helpful

Some people prepare the filling for apple pies, and then freeze it for making pies later; you could make a supply of apple butter, apple sauce, apple juice. Or just peel, slice, and freeze the apples for something you might want to make later. Or you could gather up apples that are past their prime and put them on your compost pile.

 
October 28, 20080 found this helpful

Sandy,
I'm originally from an area close to you.
Just search the internet and see how many recipes there are for applesauce. I used to have a large family and went to old homesteads to find apples. So easy really to make and 'can' applesauce.Just cut out any spoiled or bruised spots in apples, slowly cook in large saucepan, then put through calendar, then freeze or easier still, can in pints jars for use later in recipes.

I also used to dry apple chips, great for healthy snakes in lunches.As mentioned before, peel, slice, season as you would for an apple pie, then line pie plate with tin foil.Place in freezer, when solid, remove ,put in a zip lock bag and instant pie filling for a winter apple pie.

I envy your access to 'free' apples. In this time of making ends meet, we need to go back to the 'good ol' days' and remember how it was and how we made do with the bounty we had access too.

Stay warm up north! I'm in the deep south now and miss the winters, how typical huh! HA

 
By linda (Guest Post)
October 28, 20080 found this helpful

What are windfall apples?

 

Silver Feedback Medal for All Time! 378 Feedbacks
October 28, 20080 found this helpful

An apple's an apple, so whatever recipes you would normally use, just make them as sweet as necessary and of course cut out bad spots when paring them.

 
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September 8, 2005

I recently bought several bags of small apples (a really good sale or so I thought). They are a little on the tart side, and are quickly bruising.

Any advice on simple recipes to get them used up quickly? Also, how can I sweeten them? Thanks!

Answers

Kelly
September 8, 20050 found this helpful

I was given about 5 bushels of apples. We will make apple sauce and I will do a few crisps, but I need more ideas of what to do with all of these apples. We are storing them in the basement so they will last for a while.

Kelly

 
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September 29, 2021

Enjoy the flavour of caramel apples? These rose-shaped dessert cups are full of caramel and apple, and only have a handful ingredients in them. They're so easy to put together and they won't weigh you down. You don't need special tools or techniques to make these super pretty rose-like goodies; I even used my toaster oven!

Caramel Apple Crisps on plate

January 7, 2021

This was a recipe printed on a Christmas napkin that I thought would be good to try out. It was a good way to use up some frozen apple slices that I had in my freezer.

A pan of Caramel Apple Sweet Rolls

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