glut of apples

What to do with a glut of apples!

Apples are one of the best of natures snacks. They are easy to take on a day out and my kids love them. Sometimes though I buy too many or someone gives me a share of their glut apples. Then it becomes a race to get through them in time, so what do you do with them all?

Sustainable gift wrap course

Storing a glut of apples

In the fridge

I usually keep apples in the fruit drawer of my fridge (separate from the vegetables). They last much longer there than they will in a fruit bowl out on the counter.

Freeze

To keep them long term, another option is to freeze them. If you are going to freeze them to use in future recipes, I would recommend peeling, slicing and blanching first. To blanche apple slices put them in boiling water for a minute. Leave until completely cool before freezing. If you want to keep your slices of apple separate, spread them out on a tray in a freezer. Then put them into a container once frozen.

Don’t chuck out the apple scraps. You can use them to make apple cider vinegar or homemade apple scrap tea (just pop the peels/ deseeded cores in hot water)!

Wrapped up in newspaper

I haven’t tested this out, but I have read that a glut of apples can be stored, wrapped individually in newspaper. They need to be kept somewhere cold and not too dry. Be careful of leaving them unattended in a shed or garage though, as they might attract rodents. You should check on them regularly to make sure that they aren’t going off (and that they aren’t becoming mouse food).

Apple recipes ideas

Now that you have all these apples, you want to do something with them!

Three of my favourite ways to use up apples include:

  • Making apple crumble
  • Adding a peeled and diced apple to a homemade soup to sweeten it
  • Sliced apple and banana drizzled with nut butter and sprinkled over with cinammon and sunflower seeds.

For some more ideas to use them up, check out these 22 apple recipes ideas.

Give away some of your glut of apples

If you have so many apples that you won’t be able to use them all, give them away. You can give them to friends and family or via an app like Olio. Another option is to leave them outside the front of your home in bags with a sign saying please take. I found some apples left like this once and it made my day!

A variation on that theme – you could make the apples into things like jams, chutneys or cake and then give some of them away as a gift. They could make great end of year teacher gifts or festive presents.

If you are still stuck for ideas, or want to share how you have used your apples up, come and join the Eco Thrifty Kitchen Club. It’s a Facebook group set up with the aim to help people reduce food and kitchen waste!