Pick a Peck of Apples for Later Enjoyment

When heading for the apple orchard, pick extra. Many varieties can be successfully frozen, canned, dried, made into applesauce, jelly, or apple butter.

Varieties that are good for freezing include: Golden Delicious, Rome Beauty, Stayman, Jonathan and Granny Smith. Varieties that are good for making applesauce and apple butter include: Golden Delicious, Rome Beauty, Stayman, Jonathan, Gravenstein and McIntosh. Red Delicious apples are best eaten fresh. They do not freeze or cook well.

When selecting your apples, remember that their flavor is best when they are at the peak of maturity. Choose apples that are free of defects, such as bruises, skin breaks and decayed spots. Russeting, or little brown spots on the skin of the apple, does not affect quality. Also look for firm (hard) apples since soft apples tend to have a mealy texture and overripe flavor.
 
Use apples soon after harvest. Store apples in a cool, dark place. Do not cover or wrap tightly. Apples need to “breathe”. Store in a perforated plastic or open paper bag, basket or wooden crate. Place apples in the humidifier drawer in perforated bags if kept in the refrigerator. This prevents loss of moisture and crispness. Keep apples separate from other foods since apples will pick up any strong odors.

Look for locally grown apple varieties in local orchards and farmer’s markets as they become available throughout the fall.

Late August; Primas, Galas, Honey Crisp, Missouri Reds, Lura Reds

Early September; Jonafree, Jonathan, Empire, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Red Delicious

Late September; Mutsu (Crispin), Braeburn, Fuji, Key Stone Gold, Blushing Golden, Rome Beauty

October; Gold Rush, Winesap, Stayman, York, Granny Smith,
Arkansas Black

Freezing apples
Freeze only up to 2 pounds of food per cubic foot of freezer capacity per day. Syrup pack is preferred for apples to be used for uncooked desserts or fruit cocktail. A sugar or dry pack is good for pie making.

Select full-flavored apples that are crisp and firm, not mealy in texture. Wash, peel and core. Slice medium apples into twelfths, large ones into sixteenths.

For syrup pack. Use a chilled 40-percent syrup. Dissolve 2¾ cups of sugar in 4 cups of lukewarm water, mixing until the solution is clear. Chill.

To prevent browning, add ½- teaspoon (1500 mg.) of ascorbic acid to each quart of syrup.
Slice apples into the syrup in a container starting with ½-cup of syrup for each pint of apples.
 
Fill pint- or quart-size freezer bags to a level of 3 to 4 inches from the top, add syrup if needed to cover the apples, squeeze out air, seal, and label.

For sugar pack. Dissolve ½-teaspoon (1500 mg.) of ascorbic acid in 3 tablespoons of water to prevent darkening. Sprinkle over the fruit. Mix ½-cup of sugar with 1 quart (1-¼ lbs.) of fruit. Fill freezer bags to a level of 3-4 inches from the tops, squeeze out the air, seal, and label.

For dry/tray pack. Follow the directions for a sugar pack, omitting the sugar. Treated apple slices can also be frozen first on a tray and then packed into containers as soon as they are
frozen.
Source: MF-1187 Preserving Apples. Kansas State University Agricultural Experimental Station and Cooperative Extension Service. 1995.

Canned apple juice
Quality. Good quality apple juice is made from a blend of varieties. For best results, buy fresh juice from a local cider maker within 24 hours after it has been pressed.

Procedure. Refrigerate juice for 24 to 48 hours. Without mixing, carefully pour off clear liquid and discard sediment. Strain clear liquid through a paper coffee filter or double layers of damp cheesecloth.

Heat quickly, stirring occasionally, until juice begins to boil. Fill immediately into sterile pint or quart jars or fill into clean half-gallon jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace.

Adjust lids and process according to the recommendations in Table 1.

Other September 2006 Articles:
   Apple Butter
   Store Canned Foods in a Dry, Cool Place
   Store Your Canner Wisely
   Sterilizing Jars
   May I Can Pumpkin Butter?