Apple season and simple dried apples rings/chips

What an apple year!  When I think of apples right now, the word "abundant" comes to mind.  The harvest from our one old tree has been incredible.  We have made jars and jars and jars of applesauce, eaten apples by the dozens, baked pies, and saved apples for cider (soon to be made).  And I also dried vast piles of apple rings, my favourite, for winter snacking and giving away as holiday gifts.   Note we did not dip the apples in lemon juice, so they are not as white as they would be if you did dip them (this also greatly depends on the variety of apples you are using). 

Making dried apple rings/apple chips:
1) Wash apples.
2) Cut into rings, or use an old-fashioned apple turner to slice and core apples thinly.
3) Dip into lemon juice to avoid browning (optional).
4) Dry using one of the following methods, until apples are leathery and nearly crispy (or if you like crispy apple chips keep drying until you get desired consistency).

a) With a Food Dehydrator
A food dehydrator is a quick method for bulk quantity apple drying (set at 135F for about 12-24 hours).

b) In a Low Oven
Drying apples can also be done in a lowest oven (as low as your oven will go, between 145-200F for about 10-20 hours).  Line baking sheet with parchment paper and fill with single layer of apples. You should keep checking the apples, rotate them, and keep the oven door open for more air circulation.

c) Over a Wood Stove
Suspend apple rings over wood stove - hang apple rings from thin wire, set up a dowel to hang apples on, or suspend a metal drying rack over the stove.  Again watch apples closely to see when they are done.

best applesauce (from foraged fruit)!

Apple season is upon us, the early apples at any rate.  Our old tree out back is FULL, just absolutely full this year with lovely little apples.  They are not pretty by store standards, but they are our free apples, a generous harvest that we gratefully accept each year from this old tree!  The apples taste tart with a slightly sweet tinge if you pick one that is perfectly ripe, but the squirrels seem to know and knock the apples down a day or two before they really are ready to be picked by us humans.  So, I've been gathering the apples from the ground, which really is so much easier than trying to climb up into that huge old tree.  These are just right for applesauce, a ritual we have around here starting every August and continuing on well into October, with any apples we can get our hands onto.  I love to imagine the members of the  who first planted this apple tree, also picking and making applesauce to keep their household well-stocked over the winter.  We love this applesauce on our pancakes, with yogurt and granola in the morning, or simply as a healthy snack.

How we make our applesauce with our gathered/foraged fruit - the simple method:

You need:
apples
water
large pot and lid
chopping knife
cutting board
dash of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, pinch of nutmeg, cardamom, vanilla (optional, or try each one)

Method:
1) Core and chop apples, and cut away any parts that you think are overly ripe or blemished.
2) Place apple chunks (with peel on -this adds texture and colour to the sauce) into pot with a bit of water to cover the bottom.
3) Heat on medium with lid on to help steam the apples to soften them.  Stir occasionally.  Add more water so there is enough liquid that apples don't stick to bottom of the pot.
4) Add cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, or vanilla - optional, based on your taste.
5) When apples are softened you can leave the sauce chunky, or puree it in a food mill or food processor.
6) Ladle into glass mason jars leaving 1/2 inch space at top (minimum) and store in fridge or freezer.  This sauce can also be canned in hot water bath according to proper canning procedures.

Wild apple bounty

The past few days have seen baskets and bins of apples piling up on our counters.  The wild apple harvest is on, and this year is proving to be an bountiful one.  We've taken to carrying extra bags with us everywhere we go, just in case we need to do some spontaneous foraging.  We, as a family, have gathered fruit from at least 10 different types of apple trees in various locations around town, all which are walkable or bikeable from our place.  There is such abundance hidden in the city, and I love sharing this experience with our daughter.  We often meet others who are also wild foraging, including a group yesterday who was picking wild apples for their annual cider-making event. 

I just love the different colours, textures and tastes - the red and white striped markings on the apples held in the hand below is especially pretty.  Our own big old apple tree is in it's fullest year yet.  Most of these apples we use for sauce, since they do have blemishes and are not long-keeping varieties - and occasionally there is a pie.  Mmmmmm, pie.   That makes today an exceptional day.

Homesteading tasks - making applesauce

A portion of this morning was spent cutting up apples for our first fresh homemade applesauce of this season.  We had been gifted with a bushel of newly picked apples from our friend's farm.  Turns out these are real old-fashioned baking apples from a very old tree, tart and a little dry for eating, but perfect for saucing or baking into pies - the batch transformed quickly (in less than 30 minutes) into a smooth creamy rich sauce.  You can't find apples like this at the store, that's for sure!  Our little one couldn't help but try a bite out of apple after apple, putting each one down with another look of disappointment on her face at the unexpected sourness of the flavour - I guess having a whole bushel of gleaming apples standing on the floor was just too
irresistable.  She was amazed at how the flavour changed into delicious sauce, after the apples cooked down.

Here are a few simple techniques for making perfect homemade applesauce to you liking:

Method A) Quarter, core and chop apples, including skins.  Place in large pot with enough water to cover the bottom.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, and then simmer on reduced heat until softened.  Check to ensure the sauce does not burn on the bottom, stirring occasionally and adding a little more water if necessary.  Sauce can be pureed in food processor or food mill if you want a uniformly smooth texture.  Optional, add sugar or other sweetener, and/or cinnamon.

Method B) Using an apple coring device, peel and core apples.  Then chop into smaller sections.  Follow above directions for cooking down into sauce.  This sauce, without skins, creates a slightly smoother texture.

Method C) Quarter and chop apples, but do not take the time to core them.  Follow directions for cooking down into sauce.  Then, using a food strainer, or apple sauce sieve, strain the sauce through the mesh and compost the seeds/peels.

Apple Cider Pressing & Heritage Apple Tasting Event

In an earlier post I had mentioned the urban fruit tree project (fruitshare) - we had posted an add in the local paper about harvesting "forgotten" fruit trees around the city, gotten various good responses, and have been busy following up on the calls. So far, we have harvested about 10 bushels of otherwise unused apples, 3 bushels of which were beautiful eating apples that are now being stored in our greenhouse to savour throughout the winter months. 4 bushels we pressed into cider at our local cider mill. We can press 50 litres for a minimum charge of $18, which comes to about $0.36/litre (compared to $2-$3/litre in the store for organic cider!). Our four bushels made about 30 litres, which are unpasteurized, so need to be frozen, used, given away to friends, or turned into hard cider or vinegar. Last night I also canned several jars of wonderfully pink and sweet delicious "wild apple" sauce, harvsted from a forgotten tree in our local conservation area which we happened upon during a walk on the weekend. We are learning never to leave home without a few extra cloth bags, as you never know what you will find along the way that is ripe for the harvest.

On October 21, we have invited our friend Bob Wildfong to host a heritage apple tasting workshop at our place. He is a master gardener at our local pioneer heritage village, where he tends old heritage fruit trees, and grows heirloom varieties of vegetables to be saved for seed. He has also been involved for many years as program manager/president with Seeds of Diversity, a Canadian non-profit organization that is a "source for information about heritage seeds, seed saving, plant diversity, garden history, and your own garden heritage...It is a network of volunteer gardener-members across Canada who grow unusual and rare heritage plants as a preservation project. " We are very excited to host this workshop, and the description is as follows:

Savour over a dozen varieties of delicious heritage apples, and learn the fascinating stories behind them. Do you know which common apple variety was born in Ontario nearly 200 years ago? Have you ever seen an apple that weighs up to 2 pounds? What makes a good baking apple, a good saucing apple, and how can you choose the right varieties for your favourite apple recipes? Sweet, sour, soft, crisp - apples come in more varieties than any other fruit. Learn to appreciate a whole new side of your daily apple. Cost: Pay what you can as a donation to Seeds of Diversity.