How to: Freeze Apples
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Fall is my favorite time of year and I’ve looked forward to fall apple picking since I was a child. A recent trip to a local apple orchard with my kids resulted in a huge box of apples! We’ve enjoyed munching on them fresh with toffee apple dip, and making applesauce, but have also frozen much of our abundance. It’s important to note that freezing apples will change the consistency and when thawed they will become mushy. However, don’t let that stop you from freezing apples. There are lots of ways to use them:
- Make homemade applesauce.
- Puree and use as a substitute for oil or eggs in baked goods such as muffins.
- Make apple pie, apple crisp, or apple cake.
- Add to hot, cooked oatmeal.
- Make apple cinnamon muffins, pancakes, or waffles.
- Add cinnamon and sugar, microwave in a bowl until soft, and eat with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.
Here’s how to freeze apples (step-by-step pictures below):
- Peel, core, and slice the apples. If you just have a few apples, a paring knife or vegetable peeler works, but if you have a large quantity, a peeler/corer/slicer tool is very useful and saves a lot of time.
- If desired, sprinkle chopped/sliced apples with lemon juice to prevent apples from turning brown.
- Portion apples into freezer bags or containers, seal, label, and freeze.
Fall is my favorite time of year as well….To minimize waste, cook down the peeling and cores and make apple jelly!
To prevent the browning that happens when you slice the apples, you are not limited to lemon juice. Any juice or acidic (natural fruit is great) can work.. and sometimes adds a great flavor!
I’ve used:
pineapple juice from a freshly sliced pineapple and from a can
Here is a link where it says you can use soda (lemon-lime) to soak them in .. and it states that non-clear containers work best.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5863900_prevent-apple-browning.html