I have a large cooking apple tree in my garden. It produces more apples than I know what to do with. In fact most years it's crop mostly ends up on the compost which is a crime, but there we go.
So , given that I'm not especially motivated to use more than a few for cooking I wonder if there are other uses I could put them to ?
Can you make Cider from cooking apples alone ?
Can you make biofuel from cooking apples ?
Local fruit&veg shop, they'll take em of your hands for nowt.
Can you give them to neighbours? Can you bottle/freeze them for later in the year? Cider is usually made from special cider apples, however why not juice them, you may need a little sugar if the apples are especially tart.
You can make wine from them...
Cider, yes. Its usually made from sour apples, cooking are fine. Biofuel, yeah, but its a lot of work for sod all, and cider's of higher value. What else? Apple pie, apple crumble, apple cake, apple bread, pancake & apple & chocolate mousse, some types store quite well. There's also apple based curry sauces but I've never been impresed with them. Give them to friends, family & neighbours Bag them and sell - just putting them out front with a price on gets the majority paid for, though not all. Finally put them on freecycle or similar, and get offers in return.
Cant think of any DIY uses :)
NT
A friend leaves all the apples on their tree (apart from the ones we picked and fed them!) and the birds and squirrels eat them all!
At my grans when I was a kid we had about 5 apple trees and they all got picked and stored in boxes. The room they got put in smelt amazing.
Save the energy of picking them if you're not going to use them (But I bet you can give them away to neighbours if you try)
Hey!
Why not bake apple pies with em all and sell to your local grocers store? didn't one o the small time chefs create a delicous type chocolate block? and the end result was he got snowed under with the demand from a highly respected high street chain and had to expand the buisness.
;-)
Strudel. Mmmmm.
Cider can be made from *any* apples. BTDTGTTS *and* the certificate for 4th prize in the Annual Cider and Beer Festival, Reigate.
As for cooking apples..........as another poster said.......local fruit n veg shop
We have an old apple tree and it usually produces a bumper crop of apples which are "cooking class" - just a bit too sour to eat. Last year, we wrapped and boxed the best of them and they lasted until about Feb. (core, fill with mincemeat, bake!) this year. We also cooked and bottled lot of them too (cored & peeled) - to use in apple crumbles, pies, etc. and there's still a 2l jar in the cupboard remaining)
Our self-ferment when they start dropping - I think that's why the chickens like them...
Gordon
With ice cream or custard?
Adam
In message , ARWadworth writes
beer - of course
Both, its lovely, cold ice cream with hot custard. mmmmmmmmm
Either, or both! ;-)
There appears to be a dichotomy in the cooking world. Many choose some form of dessert apple rather than a cooker. Indeed, I suspect that even where cooking apples are mentioned, they are sometimes/often not talking abour Bramley-type cookers (which become nearly a puree when cooked) but those which retain their apple-slice nature rather better.
To be honest, I would make and eat apple strudel made with any sort quite happily but the OP might be disappointed.
I've got one apple tree, quite old I suspect, and probably not much longer for this world, sadly. It's an eater rather than cooker (Cox's I think). Had a bumper crop last year. Fortunately, I really love apple crumble, which the freezer is now half full of. I've also made apple sauce by pressure cooking them, and a few tarte tatins, both of which go through large quantities.
In message , Andrew Gabriel writes
how was the apfelschnapps last year
The consistency of a Bramley when cooked can be whatever you want it to be, from firm to mushy. It's all a question of knowing how long to cook them, or using trial and error methods to get them just right.
I never use dessert apples for cooking because they lack the tart flavour of a Bramley, whose sweetness can be carefully regulated by the amount of sugar you add.
How do you bottle them ? Sterlise jars, then simply put the cooked apples in, or did you put sugar in too ? Would be interested to hear how you do that.
,
Check the news:rec.food.preserving FAQ
NT
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