Anyone have apple trees?

[Jeff Monson]

We recently bought a different house and in the backyard there are 2 apple trees, It's harvest time and I had NO clue how many apples were on those trees, I picked all day today and have filled bags, boxes and plastic totes with apples!!! and I still have 1/2 tree to go.

The apples are very good right off the tree they are green and red, we have cored and peeled a few boxes but I'm still up to my neck in apples so what do others do to use them, I plan on giving alot away and the small and bruised ones will make their way to my deerstand.

Any input what other uses would be appreciated.

[Lee Schierer]

Buy or make a cider press. You can squeeze out lots of cider, fill old milk jugs about 3/4 full and freeze them. Then you will have cider year round. Make sure you wash the apples before making cider, particularly if they have been on the ground. We make it a family day when we do it so it doesn't become a huge chore for any one person and everyone splits the juice.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I wish you were closer, I'd take some of them off your hands. just picked up a press, and I need to find some locals that will give me a good deal on some apples...

+1 on buying/building a press

[Jeff Monson]

Buy or make a cider press. You can squeeze out lots of cider, fill old milk jugs about 3/4 full and freeze them. Then you will have cider year round. Make sure you wash the apples before making cider, particularly if they have been on the ground. We make it a family day when we do it so it doesn't become a huge chore for any one person and everyone splits the juice.

That sounds really good, any pics or ideas on a press?? and I'm assuming you dont peel the apples?

[Michael Wetzel]

http://scorpius.spaceports.com/~goodwine/applejack.htm

[Joe Pelonio]

Besides pie there's nothing like homemade applesauce. Just peel, cut into quarters or less, add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan, and some cinnamon. Simmer on low about an hour and then taste. If needed add some sugar to taste, and mash to desired "lumpiness." Serve some while still warm on vanilla ice cream.

[Brian Brown]

Get a food dehydrator. Cut the apples into slices and dry them into apple chips. I also vote for applesauce. My wife makes apple pie filling that is delicious.

[Howard Lacheen]

Apple Jelly is great as is apple butter.

[phil harold]

we make apple butter every year

we also have friends come pick the apples for free

[Heather Thompson]

Plus one on applesauce, when I was little there was an abandoned orchard across the street from our house, concord grapes, pears and apples. I would take my wagon with five gallon plastic buckets and climb the trees where the big kids could not get to, best apples. I used a bent coat hanger as a hook to reach the nicest apples and snag them. My mom and I would peel and core for hours, then we would make the best applesauce and pies, sure do miss those days.

Heather

[Brent Leonard]

I feel your pain. I too get to experience the "apples out of my rear" problem.

I C-list free apples once I have taken all the apples I want.

I dont care to purchase all sorts of apple presses and stuff for cider and juice. We only have a peeler/slicer that works quite well. We spend a day every couple weeks or so cleaning, peeling and slicing, putting just enough apples for a single pie into a gallon ziplock and freeze it. We also have put all the ingredients for the pie into the bag too, prior to freezing (all you do is dump contents into a pie crust, bake and, viola! nearly instant apple pie). Now I prefer a dfifferent recipe and just freeze the apples (make your own caramel and pour the hot caramel over and into the pie, then bake)

You can also bag them and take to the local homeless shelter or your church. You will be throwing plenty of apples away. No way around it in my opinion.

[David G Baker]

This year has been a very good year for apples in my area of Michigan. I have 4 apple trees with a lot of fruit on them but haven't been able to get a healthy crop out of any of the trees. I have tried spraying the trees with spray recommended by a local nursery but still end up with buggy apples. Most of the trees produce a pithy tasting fruit, I think the trees need some minerals or fertilizer. The deer sure do love the apples. The trees are quite old and are pretty much falling apart but they sure do have a lot of character. One is almost hollow, another is loosing a lot of its bark and the other two have that "on their last legs" look.

[Von Bickley]

When we were growing up at home, Mama would peel and slice up apples. On sunny days, she would spread them outside on a white sheet and let them dry.

Homemade dried apple pies are hard to beat. Wish I had one right now.

[Robert Parrish]

No apples but I have plenty of oranges, grapefruits and limes to trade!

[Doug Shepard]

When I was a kid there was a farm at the end of the street that was the last remnant of the one that turned into the entire subdivision. The guy had chickens, sheep, goats, and 4-5 horses. Us kids would stuff our pockets with apples in the fall and stop to treat the horses on the way to school. Mom was never big on the canning or homemade pies so most of them went to relatives who took them to deer blinds but the horses got treated well for several weeks every fall.