Fall is the time for apples. Apple Sauce, Apple Pie, Apple Cider donuts! Fall just wouldn’t be the same without apples.
So, I was pretty upset when I lost all my apples this year to the critters in the area. I had my heart set on canning applesauce and apple pie filling.
But, I am fortunate enough to live in a state with an abundance of apple trees ready for public picking! So when my sister came to visit, I knew we had to stop by an apple orchard.
We found ourselves an orchard with dozens of aged trees, packed full of beautiful juicy apples. The orchard belonged to the owner’s father and she was lovingly keeping it going after his passing.
Now, this was my first time apple picking for canning. I’d gone apple picking in Utah. Came home with a small bag of apples I likely made into a pie or something. But I hadn’t gone with the intention of food storage in mind and wasn’t certain exactly how many apples I would need.
I asked the lady her prices and amounts and they went up to $33 a bushel. Which seems pretty fair to me considering I had nothing to compare it to. However, I had no idea how much a bushel was. So, of course, like any curious mind, I asked. To which she answered by holding up a small bag and saying that was a ½ bushel.
Now, my brain started calculating. And in my head, my best comparison was the tomato canning recipes I had been reading. Most of which called for at least a couple dozen tomatoes. So, in my head, that half dozen bag would hold about a recipe’s worth of apples.
Clearly I would need a full bushel.
Now, I had 3 helpers with me at the time and it didn’t take long to gather up our bushel. Even after the handle of our bag broke and half a bushel of apples went tumbling to the ground and we had to fill an entire bag once more. But it all seemed like a reasonable amount of apples.
Before I go on, I realize that some of my friends who might be a bit more experienced in food preservation and likely more mouths to feed, might know exactly how much a bushel of apples is and what they might do with this amount. To which I say, bravo!
However, I am not there yet.
My first and foremost need as far as apple preserving goes was apple pie filling. I couldn’t walk away from fall without apple pie filling. Despite the fact that my eldest child does not like apple pie (I KNOW!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM?) I need to have me an apple pie or two during the year. And the rest of the canned pie filling works well in breakfast crepes.
Now, this required approximately 30 peeled and sliced apples. Which took me all day, even with Tyler’s help. But in the end, I had 7 jars of apple pie filling. Winning!
But I still had ¾ of a bushel left, AT LEAST! It was at that point that I started to wonder if maybe I had more apples than I estimated.
So then I made a couple loaves of apple bread to freeze.
Still well over ½ a bushel left.
I made a couple batches of apple muffins for the freezer.
And yet I STILL hadn’t broken into that second bag.
So then I went for the next tried and true canning recipe. Applesauce!
Another full day of peeling and I made 10 jars of applesauce.
At this point, I had finally made it to the second bag, but only just barely. And I was running out of apple recipes to make.
So I decided I would try canning sliced apples in juice. Another couple dozen apples and a full day’s work. However, I misjudged my time. I did not have time to can my tediously peeled apples. They would have to wait.
News flash: apples don’t wait very long after they are peeled, even soaked in lemon juice. Especially when they end up sitting an entire week because you never had a moment to get back to them.
Those apples ended up in the compost.
BUT I STILL HAD JUST UNDER HALF A BAG OF APPLES LEFT.
At this point I never want to see another apple as long as I live. But I have to make use of these apples, especially after I wasted so many.
So I made a couple more loves of apple bread.
I wish I could say that was it for the apples. It is not. I still have a good dozen apples left. I’ll probably make some more muffins. But really, I think I had my fill of apples and never want to peel another apple ever. After 7 jars of apple pie filling, 10 jars of applesauce, 4 loaves of apple bread, 3 dozen apple muffins, and a couple dozen composted apples, and more, it’s going to be a while before I can even bring myself to eat the apple goodies I have as it is.
Apples anyone?