Apple glut - need preserving and freezing ideas

[megonthemoon]

This is our first year in new house and we have discovered that our apple tree is rather prolific. It is some kind of eating apple, but when cooked it mushes down like a bramley as we discovered this weekend when attempting a tarte tatin that got really mushy!

Anyway, I am now looking for things to do with the apples to preserve them for the winter. I am going to make a huge vat of stewed apples for the freezer so we can have them as crumble etc. over the course of the winter. But any other suggestions? I'm wondering if I can make jars of apple sauce or some sort of chutneys that I can keep for several months and maybe even give as Christmas presents.

Any ideas?

You should be able to store apples for some time if you treat them properly - something about wrapping them individually in newspaper and storing in a cold/dark place, I think.

I recommend that you invest in an apple corer if you don't already have one. There are also machines that you can use to peel them.

Once you've stewed your apples, make sure you freeze it in small portions as well as family-crumble-sized ones - that way you can have defrost nuggets of it into your porridge when the mornings are dark and cold.

Many chutneys have apple as their base, and apple sauce also keeps. There are hundreds of recipes out there.

Also, baked apples are delicious. You need to slit them round the middle to stop them exploding while they cook.

you can 'can' apple sauce so it'll keep unpoened at room temp for a year or so but it's bit involved - you have to boil the jars after filling to ensure they're sterile as (unlike jam) there isn;t enough sugar in it to prevent mould growth

good resources from the US here

there's also a recipe for canning apple slices in syrup (good for pies later) here

I slice and freeze then they're perfect for crumbles and pies. Freeze them on a large flat tray covered in a plastic bag then tip them off, once they're frozen, into a plastic box. It's then easier to get a small portion out of the box.

Apple ketchup is vv nice (especially with pork sausages if you're not veggie). Good present for foodie types made up in a nice bottle & keeps for ever.

Apple & ginger jam is ok only IMO compared to other home made jams, but DH & DD both like it (they both eat peanut butter & jam sandwiches a lot, so we go through lots of jam!).

If you fancy either I can post recipes.

We also store whatever apples are good in crates, (keeping time depends on the type of apple) make a lot of bottled applesauce (cook apples down with some sugar then bottle passata jars in a pressure cooker), eat a lot of apples (apple porridge fave breakfast right now)

Dried apple rings also good - peel & cut apples into even thickness rings, dry on racks in airing cupboard / anywhere warm you have, store in airtight jar.

If you're dealing with a lot of apples, one of these is an absolute godsend, looks like a gadget but really is useful (though only at this time of year!)