How can I reuse or recycle slightly past-it apples?
We’ve had an email from Katie Beedham, saying:
I found some old apples at the back of my fridge today. They haven’t gone off, but they’re not crunchy enough to eat raw. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas what I can use slightly soft apples for?
My immediate thought was “apple pie?” but I know nothing of the way of the fruit since I don’t partake and for all I know you might need really fresh apples for that.
As for non-culinary uses, if you have oily skin, you can use apples to make a facemask: most guides, like this one suggest mixing some grated apple with honey, and maybe a little oatmeal for a bit of exfoliation, then slapping it on your face for ten minutes or so, then rinse it off with cool water.
I also have a feeling they’re useful for making some sort of metal sparkly clean but the computer manufacturer is hogging all searches – anyone know if they can be used for household cleaning?
And what about other suggestions?
(Photo by darotyka)
Rather than pie, I’d go one easier and just do baked apples. Cut out the core, sprinkle on some cinnamon, brown sugar and maybe a few raisins. Pop in the oven until they’re soft all the way through.
Feed them to your pigs, horses or donkeys. They’ll love ’em.
Several ideas–
Make apple crisp, which is basically apples sliced up with an oatmeal-brown sugar-butter topping baked on. Make applesauce–just cut up, core, with or without peels, add a tiny bit water, and cook slowly on stove until nice and soft. Then mush up with a fork. Taste and add sugar or cinnamon to taste. And yes, they can be used in a pie. Make a “chutney” for chops–cut up and simmer with onion, some raisins, and spices (cloves, cinnamon, allspice), maybe a bit of sugar and vinegar, and serve on top of pork chops.
I take them and peel em then slice them up and slow cook them with brown sugar cinnimon and raisins, or you could slice them springle with cinnimon and allspice dry them in a dryer or the oven and then reuse them for popourri.
When I’m making a vegetable soup from all of the random things in my fridge, I throw in an apple, too. I just remove the core and dice. It cooks down, adds subtle flavor and some fiber. Also, if you’re making a curry or something savoury that calls for raisins, throw in an apple, too.
If you have kids around, it’s fun to make apple people. all you have to do is peel the apple, carve out a face , stick a popcycle stick through a plastic or paper cup, and then into the “neck” of the apple-head. Kids can then make clothes that attach to the cup.Leave it exposed to the air somewhere. Kids absolutely love this as the face crinkles and wrinkles and ends up looking like an old woman. One more tip is that when you carve the face, make it very dramatic, such as a nose that REALLY protrudes from the face. Features that are too fine, are sometimes lost.
It is also fun to make apple-print pictures with kids. Simply cut the apple, dip in paint and press on paper. ~Karen
If you have lots of them, make cider.
Grate the apples (skin,core,pips and all) into a sterile bucket (you may need to add bought apple juice if you dont have enough juce from the grated apples). You can add sugar or honey to increase the alcohol if you like then add yeast. Leave for a week, stirring occasionally, then strain the lumps out throgh a sheet of muslin. Put into a demi john or similar and ferment till it stops. Drink cloudy for the proper scrumpy effect or leave it for ages until it clears.
Applesauce. Very easy. Just cut off all the yucky parts, peel, and cook with sugar and some cinnamon if desired.
I would suggest a battery. As I remember, decomposing fruit has a high content of acids. If you get a piece of copper (a pre 1976 penny should work) and a galvinized nail (which has zinc) and press them into the battery you can use them as electrodes. You won’t get much energy out of it, but you might get one volt or so.
Make apple butter from apple sauce. It is a nice alternative to jams, low in sugar and high in fiber. I use a foley’s food mill so no peeling or coring is needed. Just wash, quarter and cook till soft. Run the apples through the food mill and the sauce will go into a bowl and the waste, skins, seeds, etc. will be left behind. The waste can go into a compost heap or just dump it directly on the base of a shrub or tree, and it will compost by it’s self. Take the sauce and add just enough sugar to make it sweet but not sugary. Add some cinnimon and other spices to taste, the apples will reduce by 1/2 when done so add things with this in mind. Place the sauce in a roasting pan, fill it to the top. Cook in a low oven about 220 stiring occasionally until the sauce is reduced by half and dark brown. The sugars will carmelize and give a smokey spicey taste. You can then put it up in canning jars with a water bath or simply store it in the freezer. It will keep in the fridge for several weeks…great on pancakes.
Cider vinegar.
It’s pretty much the same as the cider recipe above. Cut up whole apples (seeds and cores, too) into a wide-mouthed container and fill with water. The apples will float so just get the fluid level up to the top layer of fruit. Cover this mess and let it sit somewhere warm. In time, the fruit will settle and a pale, bubbly scum will form. This crud is called “mother of vinegar” and you should scrape it off as it forms. If you have some past-date apple juice or cider around, dose it with this stuff and you’ll have vinegar in no time. Store the mother in the fridge, if you don’t have an immediate use for it. As for the container of sour water and apple chunks, when it stops producing mother, it should be about done. Also, a taste test can be administered, assuming you know what cider vinegar ought to taste like.
Chop it up into little pieces and put it out on your birdtable. Wild birds eat apples, as far as I know.
Over-ripe fruit of any variety is perfect for juicing, if you haev a juicer. Since ordering fruit and veg by delivery each week, we juice any left over fruit, then compost the left over pulp.
Don’t forget that eating apples behave differently from cooking apples when you cook them, but apple chutney is great with eating apples
Make some apple juice its yummy and the kids love it
Use an old apple to feed the birds. Put it on a skewer from the BBQ with an old cork on the end to stop the apple falling off. Then hang it outside your window or in your garden. In cold weather especially the birds will be happy and watching them eat it will help you be happy too.
You could dry them out and string them together to make mini holiday wreaths. If you powder them with a few spices (cinnamon, nut meg, and the like) and tie a pretty bow on it (great way to use some of that ribbon or twine that comes off of packaging) it looks really pretty and nastalgic. Hang them on the Christmas tree, outside for the birds to munch (don’t spice them though!) or where ever. I did this when I was in elementry school and it lasted for years (is that gross?!)
If there normal apples not cooking apples, take them with you on a nice walk, and feed horses/cows on the way (again NOT COOKING APPLES and make sure you cut them in half)
I use past it apples in my wasp catcher when we eat outside (its much easier to clean instread of jam