Apple Harvest Time
Time to pick off all those ripe apples before the bear comes. Don’t throw out those bruised apples as they too may be used.
First of all, deal with the windfalls. Wash in soapy water and rinse and drain. Peel and cut out the bruised areas if mushy. Put the washed peels and cores in a pot with cold water. Any damaged or moldy looking apples can go to the chickens or in the compost.
Cook the peels and cores and drain the juice into sterilized jars. Seal and water bath in boiling water for 20 minutes. Here is your apple juice or if you like you can follow the recipe on the certo packets and make apple jelly.
The peels are very high in pectin so you can also make the jelly by adding juice of one lemon to 6 cups juice and 4 cups sugar and boil until a drop of jelly dropped on a cold plate from the fridge gels.
Slice the apples into a bucket half-filled with cold water and 2 tsps. salt. The salt keeps the apples from turning brown. Drain the apples and either bag and freeze for a later date or make apple sauce.
These apples can be turned into apple pie, brown apple Betty, apple crisp and many more desserts.
Favorite apple crisp
Place apples in a deep dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Make a crust with 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup oatmeal and 1/3 cup flour. Mix together well and spread over apples. Bake at 350’F for 1 hour. Serve as is or with a little cream.
If you have too many apples, clean and bag them and take them to the Sooke Food Bank at the Sooke Community Hall, (250-642-7666) Meals on Wheels, (250-642-2184) or Vital Vittles at Holy Trinity (250-642-3172).
Ellen Lewers mrslewersfarmhouse@shaw.ca
