This Week’s Harvest: Apples

The Organic Prepper

It’s apple season!  This is without a doubt one of my favorite times of the year. I love it when the house is fragrant with apples and cinnamon.  A visit to a you-pick orchard or farm stand is a great way to spend a fall afternoon if you don’t happen to have an apple tree in your backyard.  (You can find a local orchard or market HERE.)

Apple trivia: Apples are a member of the rose family. They have been cultivated throughout Europe since the Stone Age.  Many refer to the forbidden fruit in Garden of Eden in the Bible as an apple, and the fruit has figured into legends and folklore for centuries.  Some examples are: the fall of Troy, the marriage of Atlanta, Celtic mythology, the story of William Tell, and the story of Johnny Appleseed.  There are 7500 recognized varieties of apples and the average American consumes 45 pounds of apples per year.  

Nutritional benefits

The old adage goes, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”  Here are a few reasons why this is true!

• One medium apple (about 3″ in diameter) contains about 95 calories, no fat, 25 grams of carbohydrates, and more than 4 grams of fiber.
• The phytonutrients in apples can positively affect insulin production to help regulate blood sugar.
• The consumption of apples can have a positive influence on the bacterial balance of the digestive tract.
• Much of the apple’s nutrients can be found in the skin, particularly beneficial polyphenols such as quercetin.
• Apples contain substantial amounts of Vitamin C, the B vitamins, and potassium.
• Regular consumption of apples has been proven to reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s.

Using Fresh Apples

Always be sure to remove the pesticides and residues from apples.  Even organic orchards allow the application of an antibiotic spray.  Click HERE to learn how to clean your fruit.

Select firm, unbruised fruit and store it at 35-40 degrees Fahrenheit for the longest shelf life.

Apples with all-natural peanut peanut butter or sharp cheddar cheese make a healthy nutritious snack.

A favorite way to enjoy fresh apples in our house is in an apple crisp.

Apple Crisp

Filling

• 8-10 ripe apples, cored and diced (peeling is optional)
• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of lemon juice
• 1 tbsp of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of clove powder

Topping

• 1 cup of flour
• 1 tbsp of cinnamon
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 cup of quick-cooking oats
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar (another one)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 stick of butter, cut into little pieces
• a dash of salt

Directions

1. In a rectangular glass baking dish, toss together all filling ingredients until the apple pieces are well coated.
2. In a bowl, mix together all dry ingredients with a fork until combined.
3. Stir in water then, with your hands, knead in butter, squeezing together the dough until it is a dry crumbly batter.
4. Sprinkle the batter on top of the filling.
5. Bake at 375, uncovered, for 55 minutes.
6. Serve hot, topped with vanilla ice cream.

Preserving Apples

Freezing

Apples can be frozen with very little prep work.  You can actually freeze whole washed apples on a cookie sheet, then move them to a large freezer bag for storage.  A better option if space is an issue in your freezer is to core and slice the apples into your preferred sizes.  Freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet, then move them to a freezer bag.  Finally, you can freeze apple slices after tossing them in sugar.  When you thaw them out, the sugar and juice from the apples will combine to make a syrup, making an almost instant apple pie filling.

Drying

Dried apples are a favorite lunchbox treat.  Cut the apples into 1/8 inch thick slices.  Place in a single layer on the rack of the dehydrator and dry on low for approximately 20 hours.  You can also dry them in the oven.  Toss the slices in lemon juice, white sugar and cinnamon and place them on foil lined cookie sheets.  Set your oven for 200 degrees and dry the apple slices for 4-6 hours, or until crisp.  In theory, these would be great lunch box treats, but unless you hide them, they won’t last that long!

Canning

Apples are the perfect fruit for canning.  You can make apple jam, apple butter, apple sauce (this simple blender recipe is perfect for baby-food – only 2 ingredients!), or try one of the great recipes below.  Hit the orchard and spend a Saturday making your house smell heavenly!

We came home with just over 40 pounds of apples on Friday.  I soaked them to clean them, and then Saturday morning I was up early, chopping apples 20 pounds at a time at my little chopping station. I pulled a barstool up to the counter and got busy.  I’m not usually a kitchen gadget person, but when processing this many apples, one small tool that I find invaluable is the little $5 apple corer that you see in the picture.  It takes more pressure than cutting the apples up with a knife, but the work goes far faster and you are less likely to cut yourself.

Apple Filling

I like to make apple filling that isn’t thickened.  If I want to make it thick later, all I need to do is add a bit of flour and butter.

This time around, I did things a bit differently. I opted to only add a splash of water and a splash of lemon juice instead of making a syrup.  This makes the resulting filling excellent for items that you don’t want to be too runny, such as apple crisps or turnovers.  It does settle during the canning process, so expect there to be some additional headspace at the top when you take the jars out.

Ingredients

• 20 pounds of apples
• 2 cups of white sugar
• 1/2 cup of lemon juice
• 2 tbsp of cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp of clove powder

Directions

1. Clean apples carefully to remove pesticides.
2. Cut the apples into the desired form. I prefer a chunky diced apple, but some people prefer slices.
3. In a large bowl or stockpot, toss the apples with lemon juice, sugar, clove powder, and cinnamon.
4. Allow the apples to sit for about 15 minutes, then ladle them into sanitized quart jars.
5. Add 1/4 cup of water to each jar, then lid them.
6. Process  in a water bath canner for 35 minutes, adjusting for altitude.
7. Alternatively, process them in a pressure canner at 5 pounds for 13 minutes, also adjusting for altitude.

Spiced Apple Sauce

I leave the peel on mine for extra nutrition but this is optional – once I use the blender to puree the apples you can’t tell that the peel was left on.  This decadent fragrant apple sauce will also leave you with a few quarts of apple and spice liquid that can be canned and used as a hot beverage on a winter day.

Directions:

Daisy Luther is a freelance writer and editor.  Her website, The Organic Prepper, offers information on healthy prepping, including premium nutritional choices, general wellness and non-tech solutions. You can follow Daisy on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email her at daisy@theorganicprepper.ca

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