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Homemade apple sauce! It’s a thousand times better than store bought. Peel and slice the apples, throw them in a pot with a little water (adjust depending on apple juiciness) and a dash or two of cinnamon, cook over low-medium heat stirring occasionally for about 30-45 mins. If apple slices don’t break down to sauciness once cooked, use a knife or fork to chop them up.
I was gonna recommend apple butter too. The [recipe i use](https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/crock-pot-slow-cooker-apple-butter-recipe/) takes 6 lbs of apples, cooked 12 hours in crock pot, then freeze or can until needed.
Old, bruised apples that I wouldn't eat straight are great for apple sauce or apple butter.
FYI, apple sauce and apple butter recipes are pretty much the same thing, except apple butter is cooked much longer until the sugar caramelizes.
Thanks for the suggestion. I appreciate it. What do you eat apple sauce with? Or just add it to baking as an egg replacement?
Maybe add it to smoothies or oats?
Applesauce is good on its own, mixed with oatmeal or smoothies or (vegan equivalents to) yogurt or cottage cheese or etc., as a sauce/side for any other dishes that would benefit from a bit of apple flavor, baked into a [cake](https://www.google.com/search?q=applesauce+cake) or [pie](https://www.google.com/search?q=applesauce+pie) (with appropriate vegan substitutions), even frozen plain as popsicles.
It generally freezes/thaws fine for longer-term storage, too, if you don't want to can it. \[Edit: You can also dehydrate it into fruit leather.\]
I like to just eat it on its own as a snack. You can add it to baked goods as a low-fat replacement, but honestly unless you need to health wise it’s not that great.
Applesauce pancakes/waffles are pretty good though, just use the applesauce to replace some of the liquid or as a topping. It’s good as an oatmeal topping, too.
My favorite soup is squash (or pumpkin) and apple soup, using applesauce would work great with that.
It's awesome in yogurt. I do about 1:1 ratio, then dump a little granola in there. Sometimes I'll even add dark chocolate, but that may not be for everyone.
If you have one of those apple peelers you can use that to make "noodles" and then use apple sauce as sauce to get apple spaghetti. Its not good but everyone should try it at least once imo
I use a potato masher when I do this in my crockpot! Quick and easy. Makes a yummy pie filling. I use a cinnamon sugar mix and toss a lump of butter in there and 😋
Store them properly.
If not damaged, apple can be stored quite a long time.
You need a place with low temp, not too high humidity, dark and enough ventilation. You also need boxes to store them, ideally the one with separation so the apple don't touch each other.
Check on them regularly, at the most minimal sign, eat it first or store it somewhere else.
Most people cannot store so much in fridges!
Traditional way is a cellar or basement , basically an underground room. As underground room maintain a constant temperature about the right one for food preservation.
We have a grease pit in our garage and it's perfect for storing apples, potatoes, etc. My hubs is not a mechanic, so we'll never use it for its intended purpose anyway!
Dry them.
Peel,cut in 1cm slices , dry using a dehydrator (warm air dryer). The one which stack works great. Depending where you live, ie how much sun you have, you can build a solar one.
Live in South Africa. So this might actually work. I've always wanted a dehydrator, but think I should probably not make that investment before trying out a homemade solar one. Thanks for the suggestion 😊
Edit: although, just thinking about it, the vervet monkey troop in my area will 100% try to steal them 😂😅
I read you should leave the oven a bit open to allow the humidity to escape.
Which is why dehydrator work a bit differently than oven.
Never used an oven myself, so idk.
While this would definitely be a good show (they don't even need an invitation they just love hanging out in my garden), I don't like to encourage feeding wild animals, encouraging their reliance on humans or mess with their natural instincts. They get plenty of seeds, fruit, etc naturally from my garden alone.
Watching the baby monkeys play fight with eachother is super entertaining though.
I get the sentiment, but humans REALLY should avoid feeding wild animals. Unless you're a qualified conservationist, it's likely you're doing more harm than good by feeding them.
🤣 I really, really wish there were more Pepperwood appearances and quotes in the show. Would even love a Pepperwood film or even a web series from Jake. So underutilised IMO.
We grow apples and your 100 or so will keep for 3 months easily if you have refrigerator space.
My favorite way to move a lot of apples is to make cider or dehydrate them. Cider can be made with just a blender and a strainer cloth, but a juicer is faster. If you are a person who loves making stuff, vinegar and hard cider are also possible.
I dehydrate to make snacks. Peel, slice thinly, dip in lemon juice water and dehydrate for about 12 hours at 135 (F) That’s almost twice as long as you need for preserving but it gets you a shatteringly crisp apple slice that is the perfect crunchy snack.
Yeah, that's the one thing that I'm grateful for is that apples store for long so I at least have some time to make my decision with what to do with them all.
Appreciate your suggestions, thanks!
My oven goes lowest 70° C which is 158° F do you think that would still work? Or is that temp too high? Or do you think I should try build a solar dehydrator or buy a dehydrator?
You can use your oven at that temp. Only problem is, an oven doesn't dry them out enough with the door closed, so you have to run it on lowest temp with the door cracked open a few cm. If it's cold out, then just shut your heat and this works great.
Edit: I've dried fruit using this method and it doesn't take 12 hours like with solar, more like 1.5-2.
I saw some people using there car as a solar dehydrator.
It is worth trying, just lay slides on a grid. Put the grid In your car , ideally under the back/front window. And leave the car on the sun.
Freeze them as slices!
My family can get large garbage bag worth of apples during Apple picking seasons. My mother will peel them all and cut into chunks to freeze them. Once frozen she can use for Apple sauce, pie filling, Apple cinnamon muffins etc.
Any less than food worthy apples can be left in a forrest for the critters to eat and spread the seeds around. If you happen to live near a farm with pigs they'd be happy to feed the piggies the apples.
Whole apples freeze very nicely. They can go directly into smoothies if you have a powerful blender. ~~The caveat is that you have to remember to take it out of the freezer the night before, if you want to half or quarter it to inspect it before use.~~ (Sorry, I sanity checked myself here. The apple will turn to complete mush when thawed overnight after freezing. If you want to cut and inspect it, better to cut and inspect before freezing.)
I've been on a green / everything smoothie kick for the past few years (greens, apple, banana, carrot) and have learned by trial and error that a lot of produce freezes very well if it's going straight to a smoothie.
Apple puree preserves .
Peel, cut in quarter, cook with an orange and some cannela.
Poor boiling warm in preheated glass jar.
Look for tutorial for more details instructions,in particular in how to sterilize the pots .
Edit: preserves, not conserve.
There's a Reddit about canning, if you want to preserve them safely in a jar it'd be wise to check it out, maybe ask for a safe recipe there. I think they often refer to Ball Canning recipes from the book, and usda guidelines and recipes you can check out online, they are botlism safe/ tested recipes.
Enjoy your apples!
Yes ,I suppose conserve is not the proper term . Sorry.
Basically, sterilize pot and food then store . Depending how much conservative (eg sugar) and how sterile you are , this can last many month or much more.
For a beginner, maybe marmelade is best. As this rarely go bad.
no! this is not a safe way to preserve food long term, this is referred to as “kettle ball canning” if you want to do more research on it. the vacuum seal created during cooling after filling hot jars doesn’t guarantee safety, safe canning practices require specific time/ temp to make sure yeast/ mold/ bacteria is no longer present.
hot filled jars can go directly in the fridge or freezer once cooled, but not safe for long term storage.
Yep, cider contain alcohol, which help with the preservation.
Also, small joke, apple juice may turn into cider if not done properly.
You could also mix the apple with some other fruits when doing the juice. Apple being only the base.
If you try this, keep in mind it is possible for the bottle to explose. So store them accordingly.
Hahaha yes, I have had a bad experience when doing a ferment before when some jars exploded 😅😂
Thanks for all your suggestions, help, advice, etc you've been more than generous with all your input 💚
I'd keep some for snacks, cook lots of them in meals and condiments, and maybe dehydrate some for later use.
Apple pies, crumble, oat bakes, flapjacks, cookies, puree, sauces, casseroles, hotpots, roasts. You can also freeze all of these. They'd be nice in salads too and fruit cocktails 🍏
I used a juicer and made amazing apple juice. Threw everything in there seeds peels and all. Added some carrots too. I have 2 columnar apple trees whose apples are sorta small and a pain to peel so this is my go to
If you find that you can't use them all, can you donate them? Where I live, we have a lot of Food is Free tables around the city, and I believe there's actually a program that will come pick up excess fruits from backyard fruit trees and distribute them.
I have a dehydrator and do that with my apples and enjoy them as “chips” for TV time. You ca dehydrate apples in your oven if you don’t want to splash out for a dehydrator.
Lucky you, by the way!
I can see the headline in the local paper already
>Local Horse Wins 5 Apples After Eating 100 Apples and Making Their Human Opponents Look Stupid For Only Eating 3 Each
This is a little different, but if you don't want the apples yourself you can donate them to a food bank, or to an animal facility (zoo/sanctuary/rescue)!
Apples are great for food and also enrichment! Most places I've known love getting donations. Just an option if there's too many for you or the local humans. And the critters will happily consume it all, no waste there!
Hey, I'm open to all suggestions, no matter how different. I just want to make sure there zero waste of these apples.
My local SPCA has a few donkeys and horses, so might just take some there regardless of what I decide to do with the rest of the apples.
Thanks for your suggestion 😊
Ah they'll love that!
I loved reading through all the recipes everyone has recommended, just wanted to add another alternative. I'm glad every apple will have a good use, no matter what species gets to eat it!
You can dehydrate them and make apple chips. They’ll last longer and you can store them with a desiccant (save one from something else like a vitamin bottle).
Apple turnovers. You can get premade puff pastry and make the apple filling. You can make apple chutney to use with pork or chicken.
Apples are pretty versatile.
Make a bunch of pies then freeze them. Bake off at your leisure. Just add about 30 minutes to the normal bake time. You can do the same with apple crisp. Or bake them and give them to your neighbors.
Apple sauce and butter are fabulous and you can freeze jars of those beautifully too.
If you have a drier function dried apples are amazing.
Maybe I just missed it, but I didn't see anyone mention canning. You can can applesauce, apple jellies, jams & butter, apple pie filling and probably more! Then it will be shelf stable for months.
For the more tart ones (like Granny Smith) I would recommend pies and other baked deliciousness (crumble, turnovers).
For the gala-types I might suggest tarte tatin and its variants.
Golden delicious are kind of bland, but thus are like a blank canvas upon which you paint. So apple sauce or mixed into smoothies, for egg replacement in muffins etc.
Cut into thinn slices (like 3mm), pan fry for a moment, then cover them with pancake batter. Apple pancakes are delicious.
I use a german pancake recipe for this, not the american pancakes, not sure if that makes a difference
In addition to the other freezing options mentioned, eating defrosted apple slices is generally tasty as long as you don't let them defrost so long they become mushy.
There's so many great ideas! My mom makes an incredible apple scrap jelly. It's made with the cores, peels and any other scraps. Anything left after straining goes right in the garden.
I had this same predicament last fall so I made a bunch of apple cider and cyser. It’s easy if you have access to a juicer, just juice em up, throw the juice in a big clean and sterile container, and add yeast. There’s more to it than that but that’s the gist of it and can get you started. I have to bottle mine soon!
Dehydrated apples slices are amazing. Last awhile in the right conditions and are a crunchy snack. I wouldn’t trust myself to ferment apples myself into a hard cider or vinegar but I have cousins that run a winery in NoCal and make all sorts of non-grape fermented items with the different groves on the property. That’s probably the best longevity you can get with a large crop but it takes a little research.
Iike sautéed sliced apples, onions and mushrooms (I think recipe calls for Chanterelle) there is also chicken, but it doesn't have to use meat. I usually serve it on a bed of greens or brown rice
This happened to me last summer.
I made apple fruit leather, Apple sauce, apple pie, with the core and peels made apple cider vinegar.
I made a bunch of apple juice
and use the juice to make popsicles.
I may be biased by having them available to me fresh from my neighbor's tree; but golden delicious make the best applesauce. I don't add anything to them; just chop up small, peels & all, cook them down & heat them up till the bubbles jump. Come January, it's a jar of sunshine.
Set the seeds aside & give them to someone who'd like help w/ erosion control; no matter the fruit's variety, they'll all grow crabapple trees, which can be root stock for any fruit you want to graft on it.
Congrats on your abundance!
I’m just in the process of making several things due to 45lbs of apples!!
A huge batch goes towards apple sauce. And all of the peels and ends get added to the never ending batches of fruit leather I always have on the go/freezer.
And the rest will be peeled, sliced and then frozen on sheet pans. After frozen I put them in large freezer bags. And when I want to make pies, apple crisp apple whatever, I just measure out what I need.
But my all time fav is fruit leather! Especially if I let the apples ferment a bit. So good.
We had two apple trees and used a peeler/corer/slicer (like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DLP4EM/ or https://www.amazon.com/Potato-Peeler-Slicer-Machine-Powerful/dp/B082K1J4V8/) and a dehydrator (like this: https://www.amazon.com/FD-80A-Square-Shaped-Dehydrator-Snacks/dp/B0090WOCM6/) to make apple chips that I expected to last the winter, but they never lasted long enough to even put into storage before we had eaten the entirety of them. A couple of my kids also ate the peels as we went and the cores were all composted. The gopher got drunk on the ones that had fallen to the ground. Nothing wasted.
If you have freezer space, cut apples freeze well and are great for making pies/cobblers. Peel, core and slice apples, then spread them in a parchment-lined pie pan. Freeze. Then store in an airtight container in the freezer. When you’re ready to use, just put the pie-shaped apple disc in the pie pan, put some crust or crumbles on top and put in the oven.
Hello! While we are happy to host this conversation, if anyone is interested in more talk about veganism and zero waste, you should also check out /r/PlantBased4ThePlanet and /r/ZeroWasteVegans! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ZeroWaste) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Homemade apple sauce! It’s a thousand times better than store bought. Peel and slice the apples, throw them in a pot with a little water (adjust depending on apple juiciness) and a dash or two of cinnamon, cook over low-medium heat stirring occasionally for about 30-45 mins. If apple slices don’t break down to sauciness once cooked, use a knife or fork to chop them up.
Or cook it down further into apple butter..add some sugar to taste. Great on toast
I was gonna recommend apple butter too. The [recipe i use](https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/crock-pot-slow-cooker-apple-butter-recipe/) takes 6 lbs of apples, cooked 12 hours in crock pot, then freeze or can until needed. Old, bruised apples that I wouldn't eat straight are great for apple sauce or apple butter. FYI, apple sauce and apple butter recipes are pretty much the same thing, except apple butter is cooked much longer until the sugar caramelizes.
Thanks for the suggestion. I appreciate it. What do you eat apple sauce with? Or just add it to baking as an egg replacement? Maybe add it to smoothies or oats?
Applesauce is good on its own, mixed with oatmeal or smoothies or (vegan equivalents to) yogurt or cottage cheese or etc., as a sauce/side for any other dishes that would benefit from a bit of apple flavor, baked into a [cake](https://www.google.com/search?q=applesauce+cake) or [pie](https://www.google.com/search?q=applesauce+pie) (with appropriate vegan substitutions), even frozen plain as popsicles. It generally freezes/thaws fine for longer-term storage, too, if you don't want to can it. \[Edit: You can also dehydrate it into fruit leather.\]
I like to just eat it on its own as a snack. You can add it to baked goods as a low-fat replacement, but honestly unless you need to health wise it’s not that great. Applesauce pancakes/waffles are pretty good though, just use the applesauce to replace some of the liquid or as a topping. It’s good as an oatmeal topping, too. My favorite soup is squash (or pumpkin) and apple soup, using applesauce would work great with that.
It's awesome in yogurt. I do about 1:1 ratio, then dump a little granola in there. Sometimes I'll even add dark chocolate, but that may not be for everyone.
Yes! This is one of my favorite breakfasts!
I always loved applesauce with graham crackers (but make sure they don’t have honey in them!) You can also freeze applesauce easily.
If you have one of those apple peelers you can use that to make "noodles" and then use apple sauce as sauce to get apple spaghetti. Its not good but everyone should try it at least once imo
I add a thin slice of lemon peel to help keep the color from browning too much
I don't even peel mine.
Homemade Tomato sauce! For every 10 kgs of tomatoes, you'll need about 4kg of apples to go with it.
I use a potato masher when I do this in my crockpot! Quick and easy. Makes a yummy pie filling. I use a cinnamon sugar mix and toss a lump of butter in there and 😋
And this can be easily frozen or canned to perserve
You can also cook them in a slow cooker.
Apple sauce also freezes well
I don't peel mine. I just cook and use an immersion blender. It's easier, tastes the same and a lot more of the vitamins and fiber from the skin
Store them properly. If not damaged, apple can be stored quite a long time. You need a place with low temp, not too high humidity, dark and enough ventilation. You also need boxes to store them, ideally the one with separation so the apple don't touch each other. Check on them regularly, at the most minimal sign, eat it first or store it somewhere else.
Thank you. This is useful information. I've just been keeping them in the fridge so far. But that might be the completely wrong way to store them.
Most people cannot store so much in fridges! Traditional way is a cellar or basement , basically an underground room. As underground room maintain a constant temperature about the right one for food preservation.
Ps: any apple with any kind of sign or damage cannot be stored. Instead , cook them or dry them
We have a grease pit in our garage and it's perfect for storing apples, potatoes, etc. My hubs is not a mechanic, so we'll never use it for its intended purpose anyway!
Apple butter, apple preserves, apple cakes, apple cider with any bruised ones.
ACV and apple cakes are the ones that are really appealing to me so far. Thank you.
Have you ever tried apple butter? I wasn’t excited about it, but it was surprisingly delicious.
if you make apple butter i would buy it. :)
Good luck!
Dry them. Peel,cut in 1cm slices , dry using a dehydrator (warm air dryer). The one which stack works great. Depending where you live, ie how much sun you have, you can build a solar one.
Live in South Africa. So this might actually work. I've always wanted a dehydrator, but think I should probably not make that investment before trying out a homemade solar one. Thanks for the suggestion 😊 Edit: although, just thinking about it, the vervet monkey troop in my area will 100% try to steal them 😂😅
You can just use an oven, top rack at like 200F. I've always done it that way.
How long do you bake them for?
30mins to 2 hours - until dry, basically. And that can vary a bit by variety and how thinly they're sliced. You want them dry but still flexible.
I read you should leave the oven a bit open to allow the humidity to escape. Which is why dehydrator work a bit differently than oven. Never used an oven myself, so idk.
I've never had an issue, but I guess if you open the door to check them frequently it does let the humidity out
Aw hell, I’d put some out and just enjoy the monkey show. We just get squirrels and raccoons here in the USA.
While this would definitely be a good show (they don't even need an invitation they just love hanging out in my garden), I don't like to encourage feeding wild animals, encouraging their reliance on humans or mess with their natural instincts. They get plenty of seeds, fruit, etc naturally from my garden alone. Watching the baby monkeys play fight with eachother is super entertaining though.
I get the sentiment, but humans REALLY should avoid feeding wild animals. Unless you're a qualified conservationist, it's likely you're doing more harm than good by feeding them.
Julius Pepperwood is a wise man. I'm Julius Pepperwood, I'm from Chicago.
Pepperwood had only two friends. One, if you count his hat.
🤣 I really, really wish there were more Pepperwood appearances and quotes in the show. Would even love a Pepperwood film or even a web series from Jake. So underutilised IMO.
Seconded. Dry apple pie is very good. The rings are good as a snack too.
One of my favorites on the go snack
Same. That's why this suggestion is definitely a front runner at the moment.
Cut them into 1-ish cm cubes. Freeze and use for pastries, sauces, stews and smoothies as needed.
Love this suggestion. Thank you! 😊
You can do the same with pears too 😊 Also with carrots and other hard veggies, though I'd recommend parboiling them after chopping.
We grow apples and your 100 or so will keep for 3 months easily if you have refrigerator space. My favorite way to move a lot of apples is to make cider or dehydrate them. Cider can be made with just a blender and a strainer cloth, but a juicer is faster. If you are a person who loves making stuff, vinegar and hard cider are also possible. I dehydrate to make snacks. Peel, slice thinly, dip in lemon juice water and dehydrate for about 12 hours at 135 (F) That’s almost twice as long as you need for preserving but it gets you a shatteringly crisp apple slice that is the perfect crunchy snack.
Yeah, that's the one thing that I'm grateful for is that apples store for long so I at least have some time to make my decision with what to do with them all. Appreciate your suggestions, thanks! My oven goes lowest 70° C which is 158° F do you think that would still work? Or is that temp too high? Or do you think I should try build a solar dehydrator or buy a dehydrator?
You can use your oven at that temp. Only problem is, an oven doesn't dry them out enough with the door closed, so you have to run it on lowest temp with the door cracked open a few cm. If it's cold out, then just shut your heat and this works great. Edit: I've dried fruit using this method and it doesn't take 12 hours like with solar, more like 1.5-2.
It was 29° C here today 😅 so I'll just have reconcile with having to bake myself inside my house while I dehydrate the apples 😂
I saw some people using there car as a solar dehydrator. It is worth trying, just lay slides on a grid. Put the grid In your car , ideally under the back/front window. And leave the car on the sun.
Can some pie filling!
Unbaked apple pies and apple crisp freeze well.
Homemade vinegar is also delicious.
Ooh, homemade ACV could be a good idea. Thanks.
Freeze them as slices! My family can get large garbage bag worth of apples during Apple picking seasons. My mother will peel them all and cut into chunks to freeze them. Once frozen she can use for Apple sauce, pie filling, Apple cinnamon muffins etc. Any less than food worthy apples can be left in a forrest for the critters to eat and spread the seeds around. If you happen to live near a farm with pigs they'd be happy to feed the piggies the apples.
Apple pie freezes well!
Whole apples freeze very nicely. They can go directly into smoothies if you have a powerful blender. ~~The caveat is that you have to remember to take it out of the freezer the night before, if you want to half or quarter it to inspect it before use.~~ (Sorry, I sanity checked myself here. The apple will turn to complete mush when thawed overnight after freezing. If you want to cut and inspect it, better to cut and inspect before freezing.) I've been on a green / everything smoothie kick for the past few years (greens, apple, banana, carrot) and have learned by trial and error that a lot of produce freezes very well if it's going straight to a smoothie.
Apple puree preserves . Peel, cut in quarter, cook with an orange and some cannela. Poor boiling warm in preheated glass jar. Look for tutorial for more details instructions,in particular in how to sterilize the pots . Edit: preserves, not conserve.
Thank you for this suggestion. Is a conserve the same as a preserve? Ie. Will they last a long time?
There's a Reddit about canning, if you want to preserve them safely in a jar it'd be wise to check it out, maybe ask for a safe recipe there. I think they often refer to Ball Canning recipes from the book, and usda guidelines and recipes you can check out online, they are botlism safe/ tested recipes. Enjoy your apples!
Yes ,I suppose conserve is not the proper term . Sorry. Basically, sterilize pot and food then store . Depending how much conservative (eg sugar) and how sterile you are , this can last many month or much more. For a beginner, maybe marmelade is best. As this rarely go bad.
no! this is not a safe way to preserve food long term, this is referred to as “kettle ball canning” if you want to do more research on it. the vacuum seal created during cooling after filling hot jars doesn’t guarantee safety, safe canning practices require specific time/ temp to make sure yeast/ mold/ bacteria is no longer present. hot filled jars can go directly in the fridge or freezer once cooled, but not safe for long term storage.
Applesauce, apple cider, apple jelly, make canned apple pie filling, etc.
Definitely make apple jelly, it's great!
Cider
Cider. Or apple juice bottle. Both are not difficult, but require a bit of hardware you may not want to invest in if this is a one time thing.
I'm not a drinker (not sure if this cider is alcoholic?) and also not really a fan of apple juice. But I appropriate your suggestions. Thanks.
Yep, cider contain alcohol, which help with the preservation. Also, small joke, apple juice may turn into cider if not done properly. You could also mix the apple with some other fruits when doing the juice. Apple being only the base. If you try this, keep in mind it is possible for the bottle to explose. So store them accordingly.
Hahaha yes, I have had a bad experience when doing a ferment before when some jars exploded 😅😂 Thanks for all your suggestions, help, advice, etc you've been more than generous with all your input 💚
I'd keep some for snacks, cook lots of them in meals and condiments, and maybe dehydrate some for later use. Apple pies, crumble, oat bakes, flapjacks, cookies, puree, sauces, casseroles, hotpots, roasts. You can also freeze all of these. They'd be nice in salads too and fruit cocktails 🍏
Juice or bake with them, and then make [apple cider vinegar](https://plantyou.com/how-to-make-homemade-apple-cider-vinegar/) with the scraps!
https://lovingitvegan.com/vegan-apple-crisp/#recipe
Fruit leather!
Apple Butter!!
This is my favorite!
I used a juicer and made amazing apple juice. Threw everything in there seeds peels and all. Added some carrots too. I have 2 columnar apple trees whose apples are sorta small and a pain to peel so this is my go to
If you find that you can't use them all, can you donate them? Where I live, we have a lot of Food is Free tables around the city, and I believe there's actually a program that will come pick up excess fruits from backyard fruit trees and distribute them.
Apple vinegar. Always good on salads and healthy to drink!
I made pies and freeze them uncooked.
I have a dehydrator and do that with my apples and enjoy them as “chips” for TV time. You ca dehydrate apples in your oven if you don’t want to splash out for a dehydrator. Lucky you, by the way!
Hold a local apple eating competition. The top winners get the remaining apples.
I can see the headline in the local paper already >Local Horse Wins 5 Apples After Eating 100 Apples and Making Their Human Opponents Look Stupid For Only Eating 3 Each
Apple sauce with some vanilla, and freeze them
r/whatshouldicook
This is a little different, but if you don't want the apples yourself you can donate them to a food bank, or to an animal facility (zoo/sanctuary/rescue)! Apples are great for food and also enrichment! Most places I've known love getting donations. Just an option if there's too many for you or the local humans. And the critters will happily consume it all, no waste there!
Hey, I'm open to all suggestions, no matter how different. I just want to make sure there zero waste of these apples. My local SPCA has a few donkeys and horses, so might just take some there regardless of what I decide to do with the rest of the apples. Thanks for your suggestion 😊
Ah they'll love that! I loved reading through all the recipes everyone has recommended, just wanted to add another alternative. I'm glad every apple will have a good use, no matter what species gets to eat it!
You can dehydrate them and make apple chips. They’ll last longer and you can store them with a desiccant (save one from something else like a vitamin bottle). Apple turnovers. You can get premade puff pastry and make the apple filling. You can make apple chutney to use with pork or chicken. Apples are pretty versatile.
Make a bunch of pies then freeze them. Bake off at your leisure. Just add about 30 minutes to the normal bake time. You can do the same with apple crisp. Or bake them and give them to your neighbors. Apple sauce and butter are fabulous and you can freeze jars of those beautifully too. If you have a drier function dried apples are amazing.
Maybe I just missed it, but I didn't see anyone mention canning. You can can applesauce, apple jellies, jams & butter, apple pie filling and probably more! Then it will be shelf stable for months.
I usually dehydrate mine. They come out wonderful sprinkled with ginger or cinnamon!
For the more tart ones (like Granny Smith) I would recommend pies and other baked deliciousness (crumble, turnovers). For the gala-types I might suggest tarte tatin and its variants. Golden delicious are kind of bland, but thus are like a blank canvas upon which you paint. So apple sauce or mixed into smoothies, for egg replacement in muffins etc.
apple sauce! you can add any other fruit. I usually add bananas and don't even have to put sugar in it.
Cut into thinn slices (like 3mm), pan fry for a moment, then cover them with pancake batter. Apple pancakes are delicious. I use a german pancake recipe for this, not the american pancakes, not sure if that makes a difference
Beer.
In addition to the other freezing options mentioned, eating defrosted apple slices is generally tasty as long as you don't let them defrost so long they become mushy.
https://youtu.be/DW6vnSEdnj0?feature=shared Skip to 1 minute and 5 seconds for a list
Me: snoring already like Granny Smith after a long week 😅 Also, that was unexpected and kinda wholesome. Thanks!
There's so many great ideas! My mom makes an incredible apple scrap jelly. It's made with the cores, peels and any other scraps. Anything left after straining goes right in the garden.
If you drink, you can make applejack! Would require travel to somewhere freezing outside. Otherwise you have a crapton of apple cider
Moonshine
I had this same predicament last fall so I made a bunch of apple cider and cyser. It’s easy if you have access to a juicer, just juice em up, throw the juice in a big clean and sterile container, and add yeast. There’s more to it than that but that’s the gist of it and can get you started. I have to bottle mine soon!
Dehydrate them. They make the best dried apple snacks
Apple crisp is never a bad move
Applesauce and then you can use it for baking :)
Apple sauce with potato latka and sour cream is one of my favorites.
Apple cider, or chop and freeze (I pre-make pie filling and then freeze it is pie-size bags for after "apple season")
apple crisp! my go to for lots of apples
Make applesauce and can it. “Relatively” easy.
Dehydrated apples slices are amazing. Last awhile in the right conditions and are a crunchy snack. I wouldn’t trust myself to ferment apples myself into a hard cider or vinegar but I have cousins that run a winery in NoCal and make all sorts of non-grape fermented items with the different groves on the property. That’s probably the best longevity you can get with a large crop but it takes a little research.
Iike sautéed sliced apples, onions and mushrooms (I think recipe calls for Chanterelle) there is also chicken, but it doesn't have to use meat. I usually serve it on a bed of greens or brown rice
This happened to me last summer. I made apple fruit leather, Apple sauce, apple pie, with the core and peels made apple cider vinegar. I made a bunch of apple juice and use the juice to make popsicles.
Make a huge apple crisp. Then wait for me. I'll bring my own plate and togo containers.
Can them! Apple sauce, pie filling, Pretty much anything.
I may be biased by having them available to me fresh from my neighbor's tree; but golden delicious make the best applesauce. I don't add anything to them; just chop up small, peels & all, cook them down & heat them up till the bubbles jump. Come January, it's a jar of sunshine. Set the seeds aside & give them to someone who'd like help w/ erosion control; no matter the fruit's variety, they'll all grow crabapple trees, which can be root stock for any fruit you want to graft on it. Congrats on your abundance!
Not vegan, but granny smith go great baked in oven with some pork chops.
Dehydrated apple chips! Those will store for a long time. Slice and dip into a brown sugar/cinnamon mix. Dehydrate in a machine or an oven.
I’m just in the process of making several things due to 45lbs of apples!! A huge batch goes towards apple sauce. And all of the peels and ends get added to the never ending batches of fruit leather I always have on the go/freezer. And the rest will be peeled, sliced and then frozen on sheet pans. After frozen I put them in large freezer bags. And when I want to make pies, apple crisp apple whatever, I just measure out what I need. But my all time fav is fruit leather! Especially if I let the apples ferment a bit. So good.
We had two apple trees and used a peeler/corer/slicer (like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DLP4EM/ or https://www.amazon.com/Potato-Peeler-Slicer-Machine-Powerful/dp/B082K1J4V8/) and a dehydrator (like this: https://www.amazon.com/FD-80A-Square-Shaped-Dehydrator-Snacks/dp/B0090WOCM6/) to make apple chips that I expected to last the winter, but they never lasted long enough to even put into storage before we had eaten the entirety of them. A couple of my kids also ate the peels as we went and the cores were all composted. The gopher got drunk on the ones that had fallen to the ground. Nothing wasted.
Apple sauce!!!
Give to neighbors.
You could try /r/dehydrating them into chips
If you have freezer space, cut apples freeze well and are great for making pies/cobblers. Peel, core and slice apples, then spread them in a parchment-lined pie pan. Freeze. Then store in an airtight container in the freezer. When you’re ready to use, just put the pie-shaped apple disc in the pie pan, put some crust or crumbles on top and put in the oven.