what to do with a ton of apples

[~gd]

You don't have to juice the apples to make cider though the finer you crush them the faster they will Ferment. We usually pare them to remove the stems and seeds [gives a veggie bitter taste] and the rot spots spots [can cause mold] rough chopped takes about twice as long to ferment as pressed. Sooner or later you will probably want to press them but the chunks do make decent feed for chickens or pigs [not too much or they can get drunk] and once you have cider it is easy to get to vinegar.~gd

 

[Mickey328]

I have a juicer now, but years ago, I didn't. I just quarter the apples, add a little water and lemon juice and cook till they're pretty much just mush. I then strained the liquid out and added water, sugar, lemon juice...to taste and canned that. It worked quite well and DS and I drank lots and lots of it!

 

[rhoda_bruce]

When you have too much of one thing, it seems ashamed. My problem is I will be inheriting property with an orange orchard on it. My parents are getting sick and unable to tend it, so I'm already assuming some responsibility with the place. But I have a job already. I can't just leave and market this stuff. And to really have a guarantee of being able to offload it, I have to go north, because everybody and their brother has orange trees in my area.
I can't really have apple trees. I had 2 many years ago, but they didn't live long. Its just too hot and wet. Wish I wasn't so tied down.

 

[moolie]

Lots of super ideas above, don't forget to save some for fresh eating if you have a cool place to keep them

 

[k15n1]

That's not very many apples. I mean, compared to buying 2-at-a-time from the grocery store, it's a lot. But when you start thinking in terms of gallons of hard cider, you almost can't have too many apples.

 

[the funny farm6]

but when you are pealing and coring them for apple sauce, that is a TON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[k15n1]

It can be a lot of work, but when I was confronted with the task of processing many apples, I began using less labor intensive methods. You can do anything you want when you're preparing for a single apple pie. But when you're processing apples by the pail, something's gotta give.

I keep talking about hard cider because that's the historical (and American) solution to this apple problem. If you're making cider, skins and seeds are not typically removed. However, the apples are crushed and pressed so the seeds and other bits don't end up in the cider.

When I make applesauce I just remove the bad spots in the fruit, cut in quarters, and cook until soft. Then I run it through a proper hand-cranked food mill.

 

[Flytyer24]

Hard Cider... or AppleJack.

 

[Hinotori]

I have one of the little apple peeler/slicer/corers. I got really good at using that thing when we had 100 pounds of apples from my great aunt. Grab apple, shove it on, turn as fast as I could. Toss the apple rings in the lemon water to wait.

I didn't worry about any little bits of peel that didn't get off.

 

[Denim Deb]

I have one of the little apple peeler/slicer/corers. I got really good at using that thing when we had 100 pounds of apples from my great aunt. Grab apple, shove it on, turn as fast as I could. Toss the apple rings in the lemon water to wait.

I didn't worry about any little bits of peel that didn't get off.

That's what I do when I have a ton of apples to do. Makes dehydrating them so much easier.