My apple tree produced a massive crop of apples this year. It does so every other year.
I should have reduced the crop more early on. I can't remember how many five gallon buckets of fallen apples I've picked up since late August and put in the yard debris.
I've made applesauce but have a tiny freezer, so not much and one person can eat only so much applesauce.
The apple tree was never sprayed. Most have worms in them. So to use them, I have cut out the worm spots. The worms are a larval stage of some bug, I forget its name.
Many have no worms. I eat them cut into quarters then. Sometimes with peanut butter.
I decided to make hard cider. I have no equipment. This rarely stops me.
I have a glass jug. I got an airlock off amazon. Before, when I made dandelion wine, I used balloons with pinprick holes as airlocks, during the fermentation stage.
I don't have an apple chopper. I do not have a cider press.
I was going to make a press from my car jack but never did.
So I steamed the apple chunks soft. First I cut them up by hand while watching endless episodes of Survivor and Amazing Race and other shows on Pluto (free TV). I used a potato masher and then put the mash into a dish cloth and wrung the juice out. Slow way to make a jug of hard cider!
With a press, I could have mass produced! But I don't have many glass bottles saved up.
I brought the filtered cider up to pasteurization temp, which is 170 F or so, then cooled it down and funneled it into the glass bottle with some softened yeast. It's really fermenting right now. Might end up quite hard cider. When the bubbling stops, I'll strain it again and cap it off to sit a month or two.
Maybe next time I'll just add some yeast to store bought juice instead.
I'm also thinking of other ways to use more apples. I could dry apple slices in the oven on its lowest heat. Ok, will do some this evening. I like to spice them up in different ways. I like to dice up raw apples in salad too. Been doing that.
My tree still has apples, lots of apples. Like what the hell. How many apples can one small tree create? It won't produce next year. It's only an every other year event. I hope to remember to prune the tree down severely in February.
When I was a kid we had a plum tree. So, I understand your pain. Is there no one to give the apples to? My mother would make jam every year. They attempted to make wine one year. It sounds like you've figured it out. Maybe someone will have a new suggestion.
ReplyDeleteMost have worms. People don't want bothered cutting them out.
DeleteSomething seems to be happening in the jar.
ReplyDeleteYup, fermentation going strong. Once it stops bubbling, I read that best is to cold crash it, by putting it in fridge, to stop any further fermentation. After that, sediment and yeast debris sinks to bottom, and siphon off the cider to another container. So I have to scrounge another glass jug somewhere. I used to save any glass jugs I came across but I must have recycled them at some point.
DeleteWe got only one apple from two trees. The deer and squirrels got the rest. I like to dry apples. They are easy to keep and make great snacks.
ReplyDeleteThe birds are really going after the apples left on the tree and that fall to the ground. I didn't dry any yesterday but today I have time.
DeleteDo you have a food processor? If so, you could puree cooked apples, spread them on a cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper, and let it dry to make fruit leather.
ReplyDeleteYes! I'm going to do this! Thanks for the idea.
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