Fall time for many means lots of apple picking. Or if you are lucky enough to have an apple tree in your yard, you may find yourself with more apples than you know what to do with around this time of year.
Get the most out of your apple harvest this year. Find out the best ways to store your apples to get them to last as long as possible, and also you will see options available for freezing apples to keep and use throughout the year.
How to Store and Freeze Apples
When storing large groups of apples, go through them all and remove any with bruising or signs of spoilage. You will also want to sort by size. Since large apples will spoil quicker, you will want to make sure they get eaten first.
You can then put the apples in perforated plastic bags. This allows for air circulation. You then want to keep them in a cool area like a basement or garage. You want to location to be right around 32 degrees. Lower temperatures may cause freezer damage or higher temperatures will cause them to ripen more quickly.
If you have way more apples than you will be able to use before they go bad, you may want to consider freezing some of them. One option for freezing apples is to freeze them whole and unpeeled. Just wash them well and lay them out on a tray in freezer until frozen. Then transfer them to freezer bags.
Another option for freezing apples is to peel, core and slice apples. You can make them whatever size you want. Then like option one, just lay them out on a tray in the freezer until frozen before transferring to a freezer bag. If you are concerned with browning, you can dip them in lemon juice or salt water before freezing.
If you plan to use the apples as pie filling, you can prepare them as you did in option two, and then sweeten the slices with sugar and other spices you would use in your pie filling. Then you can freeze them right inside of a pie plate. Once frozen you can then put them in a freezer bag until ready to use. When you are ready to use you can just add them to a pie crust and increase the bake time of your pie slightly.
Overall you will likely not want to eat an apple that has been frozen just raw, but they will work well in just about any recipe using apples.
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