As a new resident of New England, I was excited to participate in a tradition I had heard a lot about: apple picking. It’s probably a familiar story for those who’ve lived in New England their whole lives: you go to the apple orchard for a fun fall activity and somehow end up with a half-bushel of apples that can’t possibly be used up in the couple of weeks before they go bad. It’s a rough spot to be in, but there’s no need to fear—simple solutions are at your fingertips.
First, you’re going to want to set aside a couple of hours to dedicate yourself (and maybe a couple lucky friends or family members) to coring, peeling, and chopping all of the apples (into thin slices). Make sure to do this as soon as you can to prevent the tragic loss of any of your hand-picked apples or a fruit fly infestation. After they’ve been chopped, squeeze out a generous amount of lime (or lemon!) juice all over the apple pieces to prevent browning. Finally, freeze all of the apple slices.
Pro tip: Instead of throwing away all of the apple skins and cores, you should make some homemade apple cider! It’s so easy and lets you get something extra out of the otherwise unused parts of the apple. All you have to do is put your skins and cores into a pot and cover with water. You can also throw in a cinnamon stick or any other spice you want. Then, cover the pot and let it simmer for several hours, stopping when the flavor is concentrated enough for your liking. Your end result? Homemade cider!
Now, what to do with the actual apples? Really you can use them for anything—on a grilled cheese, as a snack, for apple butter, or in a classic apple pie. I would recommend making one or two pies across the holidays, keeping some apples for snacking, and then making some sort of treat, like apple butter, that you can give away to friends or family.
Making apple butter is pretty simple. You can make a lot at once and it makes a nice gift. The instructions are as follows:
- Collect Ingredients: 4 cups of thinly sliced apples; 1 cup of sugar (brown or granulated); 2 tbsp ground cinnamon; 2 tsp any other spice(s) you care for, I like cloves, nutmeg, and allspice; 1⁄2 tsp of salt; and 2 tbsp vanilla.*
- Put everything into a crock pot** and slow cook for around ten hours or overnight with a covered lid. Then, you can blend for a smoother texture or leave it as is.
- After this, slow cook it uncovered for another two hours or until the apples are at your desired consistency.
- Now you can jar it up to keep for yourself or give it away as a classic fall treat!
Whatever you decide to make, I’m sure it’ll turn out wonderful and I wish you a successful apple journey!
*Adjust the ingredients based on your preferences (ex – more or less sugar, more or less cinnamon, etc.)
**If you don’t have a crock pot, you can put all the ingredients in a casserole dish or large pot, cover it, and put it into an oven at around 200°F for the same amount of time as a crock pot.
This article also appears in our October 2023 print edition.
