Saving the Apples

Good, crisp apples are with us for such a brief moment.  Sure, you can get them at the grocery store year round, but there's just a few weeks when you can pluck them from the tree yourself.  They are crisp, sweet, dripping with juice, and they actually taste a bit like autumn sunshine.  In my heaven, there will be an orchard where it is always the last week in September.

I love autum apple picking.  I pay my money to get my bag at Mack's Apples, even though I know the apples can be had cheaper at the store.  Chris and I stroll through the orchard, bag in hand, plucking the ripest, juciest apples from easy to reach branches.  Some go in the bag, and some are eaten right away.  The bag goes home, and autumn magic lasts until the last apple is gone.

Not this year.  This year I have a canner.  Oh yes, my lovely bohemouth blue pot of preservation helped me to bottle and put a stopper on a little bit of autumn. 

The weekend before last found us at Macks Apples.  We got a peck of honeycrisps (for eating.  Alas, the magic the honeycrisp holds is a fleeting one, best savored fresh, and then dreamt about until the next picking season) and a 1/2 bushel of macintosh.  That's 20 pounds of apples.  I had plans for those macs.  We then went to a kitchen supply store and found an apple peeler/corer/slicer.  I didn't take a picture of it, but here's a picture of what it does.

Endlessly entertaining, let me assure you.

And after obtaining this kitchen power tool I set up some apple butter.  This recipe promised 3 pints.  I set up enough jars to can 3 and a half, because I occasionally suprise everyone around me with foresight.  I filled them all, and then filled up a tupperware container.  Yeah, great beginning.  Not enough foresight, apparently.

So this weekend I decided to double the recipe, and can myself enough apple butter for myself and my friends.  I got that, and then enough to start up an Etsy store that revolves around apples.  Since I knew that the recipe was going to yeild more than I expected, I was ready.  The recipe, doubled, promised 6 pints.  In the end... I got 10 and a half.  Ha!

8 pounds of apples looks like this, before cooking

and like this, after

And here are all 21 lovely half pints.

Plus, after cracking open that first jar at last weeks knitting, I've got 6 more jars in the pantry.  I am incredibly proud of my Ball canning jar Tribbles.  And at some point this week, I'm going to contiue my apple canning with some apple pie in a jar.  With this, and some Pillsbury ready made pie crust, a home made apple pie is idiot proof.

But Ericka, you may ask, how far can you stretch a half bushel of apples?  The answer is: 14 pints of apple butter (plus whatever is in the tupperware) and an apple pie.  After that, you have to discover "utility apples" which can be bought at most orchards.  They aren't as pretty, but you're going to can them up anyway, so it doesn't hardly matter.  They still taste as yummy at half the price.

And today I set up 3 pints of champagne jelly (the recipe promised 2.5.  I was ready!  I really don't know what I'm doing wrong, or right, as the case may be).  I think that turned out all right, but I'll have to let you know what Amanda thinks, as this was for her.  I sent her a link to the recipe on day and she said "so does this mean that you're making me jelly?"

I take on pumpkins next.

On the knitting front, I'm still alive and kicking in Sock Wars.  I got my second weapon in the mail Thursday, and the yarns is... well... the yarn is less than... death would be a favor.  No word from my killer yet. 

And with that, I bid you good night.  Fleeting weekends.  Le sigh.

Comments

[Gina House]

Wow...great blog! I bought a bunch of Honeycrips, too. They're sooo yummy. Making MORE apple pies! Made some homemade applesauce this weekend, too. Ian is looking forward to your apple butter...he's drooling. Love the pics of Chris eating the apple and your cooking process!

[naomi]

Mmmm, honeycrisps.

But, really, the reason I love getting apples at the farmers' market is that, despite the fact that honeycrisps are now out of season, I can get Liberty and Star and Empire apples. And I can still get asian pears.

[Nichole]

YUMMY! I'm jealous... the apple butter looks delicious... and oh, did you say PUMPKIN?!?!? YUM-O!

[Heather]

Man, we went to the wrong orchard! Went to a place in North Andover (Boston Hill?) and it was PICKED OVER -- NO APPLES. My poor daughter was crushed. Even the discovery of the perfectly round pumpkin was not enough to console her. I'll have to call Mac's and see if they are still functioning today -- she has early release, so maybe I'll surprise her.