To hate being given cooking apples

[Almondmum]

It's that time of year when I'm plagued by well meaning people giving me boxes of cooking apples.

I've managed to stop some of them but the neighbours caught my husband.

I find the chore of peeling and chopping outstrips the benefit of an apple pie or crumble. I don't mind the taste but it's not that exciting. And none of us like baked apples which would be the easy solution. If I chuck them then I feel guilty about the food waste.

Anyone else's heart sink when they see a box of cooking apples heading towards them?!

Or even better, anyone got any extremely easy and tasty cooking apple recipes?

Just say no then, or pass them on at work/school.

But recipes:

Buy a red cabbage and make a hot slaw. Great with an autumn bbq. Loads of recipes online but usually I do this: caramelise 3 onions long and slow, you want a high onion-cabbage ratio, chuck in some spice (coriander, cumin, cayenne), chop a few apples (I don’t bother peeling), then add the red cabbage, a bit of water or veg stock, and a slug of apple/balsamic vinegar, don’t overlook the red cabbage as you want it to still have bite. If the apples are a bit sour great, add more!

This was an annual chore when I was growing up until we got this game-changer, then making apply crumble became far more enjoyable! https://www.lakeland.co.uk/13181/apple-master-peeler-and-corer

I'll be honest can't say I have this problem.. but can't you just say no?

Get one of those nifty apple peeling and coring machines. They’re brilliant.

This is a very niche problem but I love reading about it! My MIL tries to give us a box of posh pears every Christmas and it's a lovely gesture but I feel awful because so many just go to waste. OP do you at least have an absolutely smashing apple pie recipe to share? 😁

Oh thank you gemstar, I'm ordering that! I might get one for my mum too. She's in possession of a cooking apple tree and feels the same way as me about them.

I HAVE said no in the past, hence me saying in my post I've managed to stop some of them. The nice old guy next door caught my husband and he was too polite to say no I guess.

The apple corer above is a game changer. I have an allotment and a lot of apples. Core, slice with the machine, sluice with lemon juice and freeze for crumbles. Also make a mean toffee apple cake. Friend freezes after cooking and has in porridge all throughth3 winter.

im also very used to a firm, no, from people when I offer apples. I don’t mind.

another friend fills 3 green bins with just her windfalls.

Toffee apple cake

also grate into winter coleslaw Winter coleslaw

Weirdly one of my friends has this problem, she gratefully said yes to a box once and word seems to have got round and every year she gets offers boxes and boxes. She says no but people say oh go on, she's now taken to 'crying' as soon as people knock which seems to work haha.

The toffee apple cake and the slaw sound amazing, could you also offer them to any local groups? We used to make crumble at Brownies.

Keep a few and post the rest on Olio for free.

You could also put the box outside your house with a “please help yourself” sign but I don’t know if that would upset your neighbour!

You could even say, “thanks Ted, I’ve taken a couple to bake with, do you want the rest back or shall I pop them outside for passers-by?”

You can do baked apples in the oven with cinnamon and raisins - you don’t have to peel them!

Apple jelly- basically jam but you strain it so you use whole but chopped apples. No peeling no coreing just chuck em in

No need for fancy prep when you Freeze

I quarter the apples and cut the core out or cut the sides off the apple leaving a square core behind. 4 cuts per apple, that's all. Spread on a sheet and freeze then bag up.

If you are around no need to spread them out. Bag them up then shake the bag every couple of hours so they don't stick together.

Aw I love when the neighbours have cooking apples going spare. But we love crumble!

Feel blessed- no one gives me excess apples! They are hugely expensive to buy in shops!

Any apple recipes anyone can share? I have a similar problem op. I always mean good intentions but I don't have enough time to find it fun.

Thank you so much all, I'm ordering the apple peeling machine, saving the recipes and the prep info is helpful too.

If I have any left over that I can't be bothered will, I will use the reply above on my neighbour.

I did laugh to myself at the idea of giving them out at school, mine are teenagers now and I can't see them being impressed with me sending them off with bags of cooking apples to hand out.

It isn't being polite to take something that you aren't going to use. Your husband doesn't bake, so he says no.

I love getting any fruit, but then I make loads of chutney and jam.

I like to add them all sorts of meals too, think out the box, apple crumble/pie/cake lovely but there’s so much more. This time of year I always have a bowl of stewed apple (apple sauce) in the fridge, or whatever fruit is available i just add a few spoons of water and some sugar cook to soft. It’s lovely on porridge/yogurt/icecream/custard or just on its own all my children/grandchildren go straight to it.

but try adding to meat dishes - casserole/curry/shepherds pie/stir fry/spaghetti bolognaise anything really you can add fruit to, cooking apples partially cook down and thicken the sauce without making sweet.

One of my friends got a little cider press for this exact reason.

We all really like stewed apple. Have it for breakfast with yogurt or on porridge. Sometimes I chuck in some raspberries or pears or rhubarb. And the stewed fruit is also good in cakes, we get through boxes of apples this way. Used to have our own tree but we've moved now and rely on neighbours to keep us supplied so I'd actually like your problem. But I do remember when we had the tree it was impossible to give all the fruit away because everyone nearby had their own or friends/neighbours trying to pass apples to them. One particular glut year we got rid of loads to a local cider maker, an add on free cycle should do the trick.

Do you have any animal rescues/farms/zoos near you?

The animals would enjoy apples (in moderation as a treat).

I love it when I get some cooking apples! But everyone here loves crumbles.

discontinued ! sadface

There was a curry recipe involving apples that was passed down my family for years. I think you had to stew the cooking apples with spices, then do something else with them (can't remember if tomatoes were added or not), then add tinned salmon (or other meat of your choice). Maybe you could do something savoury like that if you get fed up with sweet recipes?

You could also see if there's a community fridge nearby and tell your lovely neighbour about. It's a great way to get a glut shared out.

My MIL has a mini orchard and she says neighbours have started diving behind their cars to hide when they see her coming with her bags of apples in autumn. And she doesn't mind at all when her kind offers (offloading) are politely declined.

She makes jars and jars of apple butter. Plenty of recipes online if anyone's curious:)

I give surplus fresh produce to the local food bank, they put it out on a table for people to help themselves. That saves on food waste and is going towards helping the community. Also, try putting surplus on Olio app, someone will take it off your hands.