How to Store Apples? Also Freezing?
Summer and autumn apple varieties cannot be stored as long as winter varieties. In this blog, we will discuss how to store apples for a long time. The winter varieties are then picked slightly immaturely and stored in fruit crates. Below is a description of how you can store apples in various ways.
How to store apples?
This can be done in the following ways:
- The apple can be kept in the refrigerator or in the pantry when the temperature is between 2 – 4 degrees.
- Apple can be stored in the fruit bowl for about 5-6 days.
- Freezing apples is not a good idea.
- We can also make or preserve apples from it.
There are some extra points that you can do if you want to keep the apple as long as possible.
Store Apples in the Refrigerator
Emptying a bag of apples into the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator is not good for the apple. The shelf life will undoubtedly decrease. It is useful when you have bought apples, to check whether there are fair spots or damage to the apples.
Apples with fair marks and damage tend to rot earlier. They will light other apples so that you can enjoy other tasty apples in the fridge for less time.
An apple that is damaged also releases a substance, ethylene, that causes the other apples, and other fruits and vegetables, to ripen or rot more quickly. It is better to take these apples out of the fridge and eat them as soon as possible. When you put the apples in the vegetable drawer, make sure the stems do not pierce each other.
Apples in the refrigerator will keep for 3 weeks longer than in the fruit bowl.
Store Apples outside the Refrigerator
When you keep apples outside the fridge, so just on the fruit bowl, the lifespan is shortened to a maximum of 5 days. After that, they are no longer really fresh and they will gradually dry out. It kind of depends on how fast this goes and how long it has been since they were taken off the tree.
If you have too many apples at home that you are going to use for eating, cooking, or baking or your fridge drawer is full, you can also store apples outside.
If you keep apples in the garden or on the balcony in, for example, a fruit box, they can remain good and fresh for at least a number of weeks. It is important that the boxes are covered creatively with gauze. This to keep birds out and possibly. rodents at a distance.
Also Read this: How to store lemons
Check the apples regularly. Again, rotten and/or bruised apples must be removed. Birds and insects are happy with a purse apple or else a trash can is an option.
To keep apples good for longer in a fruit box, you can neatly place the apples next to each other, without the stems damaging the other apples. So pay attention to the way of putting it down.
Fresh autumn nights have a good influence on the taste of the apple and the aroma. The dew prevents the apples from drying out. When there is light night frost, the apples will not experience any problems. In case of more frost, you can cover the apples with bubble wrap. Sultry summer nights have a less good effect on the apples unless you want to dry apples.
Freezing apples
Another way to store apples is to freeze. It is really difficult to ‘normal’ freeze a whole apple or pieces of apple. There is too much water in an apple. The structure becomes limp, the color changes and the taste deteriorates after they have been frozen and then thawed. It is no longer that attractive apple that you want to sink your teeth into.
Making applesauce
With apples, it is useful to make an apple sauce. Find a nice recipe, or an easy one, cook the apple pieces to a pulp and let them cool. When you put the applesauce in small containers, you can use it for baby food. If you have cooked some coarser pieces, it could be tasty in an apple pie or as an apple compote. Make it up! You can store applesauce in the freezer for at least 3 months.
Wecken apples
There are many recipes for canning apples or even apple pie filling. The reason for preserving apples is because the shelf life of the apple is extended. You can keep the apples in a jar for a year after preserving them if you have done this correctly.
Preserving is a painstaking job and you have to take the time to do it. Preserving means: putting apples, in a sterile way, in a jar so that they can be preserved for a long time. It is therefore a method of preserving, in this case, apples. This is done without chemical additives. There are a number of rules that you must adhere to when you go canning.
If you do not work exactly according to the rules, the apples will quickly start to mold in the pot. After all, bacteria have entered the pot that could develop into fungi.
Apples in Syrup
Peeled and chopped apples can be added to a pan with a lot of vinegar. Spices have been added to this, such as cinnamon, ginger, and cloves (according to a self-selected recipe). This is boiled for a few minutes. The apples, herbs, and spices are extracted. The moisture that remains behind is reduced. Then sugar is added.
When the sugar has dissolved you have syrup. This syrup is put in a sterile jar. This jar is then closed tightly and again placed in boiled water for a few minutes, according to the recipe of the preserving. That is different from every other recipe. When this is ready and the pot has cooled down, it is placed in a dark, cool place. This way the apples can be stored for another year. Always check what the apples look like before you eat them. Smell and taste!
Apples Preserves and Heat
Preserving apples is also a way to extend the apple’s shelf life. The amount of sugar preserves the apple. Sugar has a drying effect, as it were. The less moisture there is in a piece of apple, the less chance of mold.
Preserving is a bit of a job, but it can also be a lot of fun! You have to take the time. It takes many steps to preserve, at intervals. Fry in the pan, cook in sugar syrup, add sugar to the pan, stir, cool the pan with the fruit in the pan, then remove the fruit. Now you heat the sugar again, add sugar and the whole operation is carried out again.
This process happens as often as you think is right. In this way, it becomes your own creation. How nice is that? You can judge by yourself exactly how long you can keep candied fruit. Look, taste, smell, and judge, I would say. The sugar is well preserved, so you really don’t have to eat it right away … Enjoy your meal!
Apples Preserve and Dry
Preserving and drying is a completely different technique than preserving and heating. The deal is sugar. That’s for sure. During preserving and drying, the apples are placed in a sugar solution of water and sugar. (Concentration of sugar in the water is higher than 65%). The sugar solution is warm, which causes the sugar to dissolve. The apples dry out because of the sugar.
Once dried you can keep it for a long time in a closed box.
Always check before use whether the apples still look good. Taste and smell it. In case of bad smells or hairy pieces, it is advisable to throw the apples away. But I don’t have to tell you that.
Apples Dry
Apples can be dried in various ways, so you can keep them longer. However, the structure of the apple will undoubtedly change. For example, the taste can change when the apple is dried in the oven at a high temperature.
A number of vitamins, such as vitamins C and E, then disappear from the apple, just like the highly valued antioxidants. Either way, they can be kept longer as long as they stay dry.
Apple’s Freeze Drying
Freeze-drying of apples cannot be done at home. The water is removed from the apple at very low temperatures. The structure of the apple changes forever. It becomes brittle and fragile. When you add water to this, it will never be the piece of apple it used to be. It takes a lot of energy to make this process succeed. You can buy this product online if you wish.
Apple Vacuum drying
Vacuum drying removes all air around the apple, causing the water in the apple to evaporate. It is a relatively new technique that cannot be performed at home. The structure of the apple remains more or less the same in this case. It is an environmentally friendly way of drying and no preservatives are used. You can also buy this product online if you want.
Air Drying Apples
You can also keep apples by air drying. Drying apples in the air is very natural and is not for consumption. Nice to do this with children, for example. Apples are cut into 1 cm thick slices and pierced with an apple corer.
The apple slices are threaded around a thick stick or broomstick. The slices should not touch each other so that there is a lot of air circulation so that they can dry well. Otherwise, they will go moldy. Dry the apple slices horizontally on the stem, somewhere in the house. You can now use them for all kinds of creative purposes.
