Apple season is here - learn the best way to preserve your apples - recipes included!
If you're wondering what to do with a bumper crop of apples this year, have no fear Have To Have It has you covered! There are plenty of delicious ways to preserve your apples from jams & jellies to chutneys and cider, this fruit is so versatile that a bumper crop just means more delicious options available to you.
Here are some of the best ways to preserve and store your crop:
1. The first way to preserve apples is by far the easiest and requires almost no effort! Apples and pears have one of the longest storage life of any tree based fruits if stored properly.
If kept in cold storage in ideal conditions they will last up to 4 months, and can last up to 12 months in controlled atmospheres. Whilst we don't all have cold store rooms or atmosphere controlled environments we do have refrigerators which go a long way towards extending their shelf life.
A rough guide for storage:
- On the counter: 5–7 days
- In the pantry: 3 weeks
- In the refrigerator: 4–6 weeks
- Once cut: 3–5 days in the fridge, 8 months in the freezer
2. Our second suggestion is just as easy as the first. By freezing your apples you can extend their storage life by up to 8 months! Just bear in mind that when you thaw them, the water in the cells expands, which can break the skin and softens the fruit so it’s best to process your apples before you put them in the freezer.
3. Dried apples are a delicious snack that can be enjoyed any time you fancy a little extra something between meals, or as a baking ingredient.
To dry your apples, simply wash your harvest before coring and cutting it into thin slices. You can either dry them in an oven on its lowest temperature setting, or in a dehydrator. A really quick and easy way to prepare fruit for drying is with a apple corer and peeler, secure to the bench top with their clever suction base and a few turns of the handle they effortlessly core, peel and slice precise 5mm thick slices which is the perfect thickness for drying!
This Appetito apple corer, peeler and slicer available on our website makes short work of prepping apples for drying or preserving
To prevent the fruit from oxidising (turning brown) first soak the slices in brine (56g salt to 3.7L of water) for a few minutes before removing with a slotted spoon and patting dry with kitchen paper.
Drying times vary according to the temperature setting of your oven, but it’s easy to tell when your apples are ready, simply pick a few slices at random and give them a squeeze if they are ready they will have a rubbery texture and will spring back into shape when squished.
4. Producing apple chutney is slightly more challenging than our previous suggestions but well worth the time and effort. There are some fantastic recipes out there and here are a few of our favorites: BBC good Food classic apple chutney, Chelsea spiced apple chutney and Love Food Hate Waste NZ's plain apple chutney recipe.
There are plenty of tools on our website for making processing your apples for your chutney easier such as apple corers, apple wedgers, and our favorite all in one the Appetito apple peeler, corer and slicer.
5. Jams & Jellies are in our opinion the best way to preserve your fruit you can add other flavours to create a savory or sweet flavour to them making it a versatile use for your fruit. Our favorite jelly is made by a very elderly lady in Hawea who sells her jelly at the local farmers market. Unfortunately her recipe is a closely guarded secret so here are our top 5 recipes online: NZ Womans Weekly apple jelly, Castello apple jelly (this one is an amazing match with their creamy blue cheese), for jams were back to BBC good food for their apple jam recipe and Just A Pinch's Apple Onion Jam
For most of these recipes you will need cheesecloth to strain the mixture also available on our website here.
Enjoy apple season!
Sources:
The FDA:- https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/selecting-and-serving-produce-safely
BBC Good Food: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/classic-apple-chutney
Chelsea: https://www.chelsea.co.nz/browse-recipes/spiced-apple-chutney/
Love Food Hate Waste NZ: https://lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz/recipes/apple-chutney/
NZ Womans Weekly: https://www.nzwomansweeklyfood.co.nz/recipes/apple-jelly-13491
Castello: https://www.castellocheese.com/en/recipes/apple-jelly/
BBC Good Food: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/apple-jam
Just A Pinch: https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/appetizer/cheese-appetizer/cheese-crostinis-with-carmelized-onions-apples.html