# Hows your apple harvest coming?



## stanb999 (Nov 14, 2011)

Our trees have exploded with fruit this year!

Here is just a sample... We have picked 3 more full bushels and they have just started. What an abundace!

These are used for apple sause mostly. They can be a bit sour if they aren't cooked.


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## 21601mom (Jan 15, 2013)

That's awesome; congrats! How are you saving the extras? Dehydrating, canning?


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## stanb999 (Nov 14, 2011)

Here are two more types...

The green ones make great dried apples. They are real sweet and tangy. The other reddish ones are good for fresh eating and pies!


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## stanb999 (Nov 14, 2011)

21601mom said:


> That's awesome; congrats! How are you saving the extras? Dehydrating, canning?


I updated the postings to show what we use each one for.

They are just wild apples so over the years I have taste tested bunches. I prune and tend to the trees but don't spray so the apples don't always look perfect but they taste great!

Some applesauce the wife has canned up.


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## bacpacker (Jul 15, 2011)

I've been planting some apples, pears, cherries, & papaws the last couple years. Thought I was going to get my first apples and pears this year, but they dropped well before they ripened. We have been getting cherries off our one old tree. And this year was the best crop of blueberries yet. We started harvesting the first of June and I picked the last pint last night. We've probably picked 3-4 gallons this year.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

It has been a very good apple year around here.


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## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

Crab apple has exploded--we trimmed it back last year and you can't tell we touched it! 30 pints of jelly and jam. 

McIntosh has done about normal. 20 quarts of pie filling.


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## stanb999 (Nov 14, 2011)

Dried apples. We use a bunch. Everything from snacking to pies and baked dishes. They are so sweet that they stick to the tray and are crispy when you bite down. 

How we do our storage...
We fill a five gallon pail, each bumper crop year. If it's a slow year we may only top it a bit. If it's a really slow year we can concentrate on just applesauce. The pail of dried apples will last us about 3 years if we didn't pick or dry any. We also store fruit roll-ups. We aren't making any this year I don't think. We have a few left over from last year.


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## drfacefixer (Mar 8, 2013)

stanb999 said:


> Dried apples... We use a ton. Everything from snacking to pies and baked dishes. They are so sweet that they stick to the tray and are crispy when you bite down.


So im dehydrating a batch of apples and trying to figure out how long they will last in vacuum packed jars vs foodsaver bags. Any ideas? What length of time should I be hoping for?


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## stanb999 (Nov 14, 2011)

drfacefixer said:


> So im dehydrating a batch of apples and trying to figure out how long they will last in vacuum packed jars vs foodsaver bags. Any ideas? What length of time should I be hoping for?


We store our in 5 gallon pail with a gamma seal. We dry them till they are brittle. They crack and snap rather than bend. We keep it closed tight when your not into them. 
year one they are just like you put them in there, we notice no difference.
year two they are softer in texture but still really good in flavor.
year three they start to taste like sweet paper or cardboard moistened(not a bad flavor just no flavor)

That's as long as they ever last us. If you were to seal them they will likely keep much longer, if you add an oxygen absorber and keep them out of the sun they could last decades. If your going to use just bags. I suggest putting them in a cookie tin or better a popcorn tin. This way they will be protected from rodents/bugs, be protected from the harming sun light, and it will keep out the moisture to a point.

My best advise is store what you produce, eat what you store. This way you won't ever have old stale food.


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