One of the most exciting things to happen on the farm this year was that we ordered our orchard. We have planned to plant one for several years but spent a lot of time researching the varieties. We knew we wanted heirloom plants and that we liked the fruit in all forms so we spent the last 5 years looking up sellers that could offer these. In the process we discovered a LOT about apples. We finally ordered 14 trees in August.
Knowing that different varieties are good for different purposes, I made a spread sheet to record whether an apple was good for baking, eating out of hand, pies, juice, or sauce. I think we got a good mix. We loved the names and histories of the apples. Discovering that some apples came from England, France, or Russia made for some interesting reading and musings. And mulling over names like Hog Sweet, Smoke-house, and Horse Apple (Yes, that’s a real name!) had us laughing with delight.
Here at our house, we can applesauce and apple pie filling. I also can about a dozen wide-mouth quart jars of baked apples. To do this, I choose 24 smallish Golden Delicious apples and wash them well. I then core them and place them in the jars. When the children were little, I would fill the centers with cinnamon “red-hots” to season and add a little color for fun, but now I just cover them with a medium syrup and process in a pressure canner for 15 minutes on 10 lbs. of pressure. It doesn’t take long after supper to warm them in the microwave for a sweet dessert, or a toasty after-school snack. This is just the right thing on a crispy cold fall or winter day.
In canning apple–pie filling, I have an old-fashioned apple peeler (which can also be used on potatoes) on the Granny Smith and Winesap apples. It has been well worth the money I paid. It can, in one easy step, peel, core, and slice the fruit. I generally remove the slicer attachment because we like our slices thicker in pie. Then using my apple slicer, we slice the apple into 8 pieces. I fill the wide-mouth quart jar ¾ full of apples, and then cover with the pie-filling mixture and again process in a pressure canner at 10 lbs. for 10 minutes. The chickens LOVE the apple peel “spaghetti” strips!
Lastly we use a mixture of apples for our applesauce, starting with a bushel of Golden Delicious. I wash them all, and slice them into quarters. Then I pressure can them for about 10 minutes in my pressure canner. I can then run them through my big strainer, which takes out the seeds and peelings leaving only the meat of the apple. Pour into pint jars and process in the pressure canner for 10 minutes at 10 lbs. of pressure. I can also use this method to make my apple butter which I then cook down with spices in my crock-pot before canning.
By the way, for those who don’t like to use commercial pectin for your jams and jellies, now is the time to save the peelings from your apples to freeze for next summer’s fruits.
Another nice thing to do with the leftovers is to make some apple pulp pomanders. Take the waste products and run through the food processor until smooth. Drain until there is no liquid running. Mix some spices like cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg with some orris root powder and knead into the apple mixture. Roll the apple and spice mixture into balls about 1 ½ to 2 inches in diameter. Roll the balls in powdered orris root mixed with cinnamon and cloves. Spread them out where they can dry or place in the oven on a VERY low heat. Cut squares of fabric to cover the apple balls and tie with ribbon. These are lovely to hang from hangers in the closet and tuck into drawers.
These are gifts that children can make easily. Most children love kneading goopy stuff with their hands, rolling the balls, rolling them in spices, and cutting the fabric and ribbons. There are jobs for every age and skill level. It is my belief that the earlier children (and adults for that matter.) learn to make gifts, the more they are able appreciate handmade items. I remember a Christmas where children in one family present asked the cost of every child’s gift. In addition to being rude in the extreme, it made everyone uncomfortable. Our children made gifts for their grandparents, aunts, and uncles for years. They also learned to shop within their budget. To this day they are thrifty with their money and talents.
Our daughter and her husband shop in thrift shops all year long where they purchase baskets for pennies. They watch for sales on candy bars and buy them in bulk. They then make up baskets with their home canned and baked goods, throwing in the candy bars as extras. Everyone who receives them is astounded by the wealth of the contents which may include other little treasures and books found at discount prices as well.
You can always use the pomace to kill any garden growth - like those invasive weeds – that you don’t want.
Finally I leave you with a question: Can you name 6 ways to preserve apples? (Eating is NOT preserving - it is consuming.)
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