Preserving Apples at Home: 5 Ways to Preserve Apples

Preserved apples are any apples that you store for later consumption. Since apple trees bear fruit from summer into late fall, you must preserve them in some way if you wish to sell or consume the fruits between December and June. Once harvesters pick apples, they can last a week at room temperature, but there are many easy ways to help apples keep in long-term storage for longer periods of time.

You’ll need the right implements to assure your apples last beyond their natural expiration date. Here are four key ingredients that can help you to preserve apples:

1. 1. Hot water: While organic matter often benefits from cold water, you should focus on using boiling water to blanch and preserve your apples. Exposing them to hot water kills enzymes that will break down and decompose the fruits.
2. 2. Pectin: Cooking apples releases pectin, a naturally occurring preservative. Release this enzyme by heating up the fruits to boost their durability.
3. 3. Sugar: The apples’ naturally released sugars combine well with additional white cane or brown sugar to extend their lifespan. It does so by preventing microbes from dissolving the texture and taste of the fruits.
4. 4. Vitamin C: Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C will help keep your apples from browning once you slice them. Either use a powder version of the vitamin or substitute lemon juice—which is high in vitamin C—as a DIY alternative.

You can preserve all apple varieties in a host of different ways. Consider these five preservation methods:

1. 1. Canning: Store whole or sliced apples in canning jars with lemon juice and sugar. You can use pint jars for canning apples in general, but consider having a water bath canner on standby in case you need a container with more space. Fill the cans close to the rims with your ingredients. A few air bubbles in your mixture are no cause for concern—this is an unavoidable part of the canning process.
2. 2. Dehydration: Dried apples make for long-lasting, tasty snacks. Dehydrating apples requires you to either make use of a dehydrator or store thin slices in a warm area until they dry out. Use dehydrated apples to make apple rings or apple fruit leather. Store them in a sealable plastic bag.
3. 3. Fermentation: As with so many other fruits and foods, to ferment apples is to make them capable of lasting much longer than they would otherwise. After fermenting your fresh apples, put them to use in an apple cider vinegar or hard cider.
4. 4. Freezing: You can freeze all varieties of apples for the longest possible storage. Frozen apples last up to a year or so. It’s simple to freeze apples, although you should store apples in freezer bags if you’ve sliced them. It’s also worth treating them with some lemon juice, sugar, or boiling water prior to placing them in the freezer for improved longevity.
5. 5. Refrigeration: For the simplest form of home food preservation, store apples whole in the refrigerator. Prior to the age of refrigeration, apples could last in cold root cellars or even outdoors in the winter chill for a couple months. These fruits are quite durable already—and that’s part of the reason why storing them is so easy. Whole apples will keep longer in your fridge than sliced apples or store-bought apple juice.

There are limitless preserved apple recipes that will last you far beyond the fruit’s initial harvest season, including:

1. 1. Apple butter: Consider combining ground cinnamon sticks with your mashed fruits to create a cinnamon apple butter. This can serve as a healthy snack on its own or a condiment for other recipes.
2. 2. Apple chutney: This dish combines spicy, sweet, and savory flavors so you can get the most out of your preserved apples. It’s also an easy way to sample how you like sautéing and cooking apples on a stovetop.
3. 3. Apple jelly: Use a crabapple or regular apple base alongside sugar to make an apple jam or jelly. Supplement the naturally occurring pectin with additional pectin powder to help preserve the apples for even longer.
4. 4. Apple pie filling: Glaze both sweet apple and tart apple slices on a baking sheet with cinnamon, sugar, and other spices to help preserve them and fill them up with flavor. The sour ‘Granny Smith’ and sweet ‘Fuji’ apples make for a complementary pair in terms of taste. Store the filling in a can until you’re ready to lay a delicious single layer of it in a pie crust for baking.
5. 5. Applesauce: This is one of the most typical canning recipes for preserved apples. Add brown sugar for a sweeter homemade applesauce or omit sweeteners if you want to keep the dish more natural. ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Jonathan’ are routine and reliable apple candidates for an applesauce recipe.

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