What to do with the bumper crop of apples

If only I'd planted apple trees when I moved here 18 years ago!

Our choir secretary and hubby keeps bringing in washing baskets full of Bramley Apples.
They are very popular with our choir. It has been a very good season. I will have to buy some more frozen blackberries to make blackberry and apple crumble. A divine dessert.

I sort through all the crop, many 100's this year. Select the best and wrap individually then pack into freezer drawers and put in the 3 redundant upright freezers that live in the 'apple ' shed. Gets quite scented as the time goes on.
The remaining 1/2 ton is made, by hubby, into cider vinegar for use in the assorted chutneys that he also makes, and cooked up in various ways by me as pies, crumbles, cakes and preserves. Where we can we generously donate quantities to friends, neighbours and long-suffering family. I managed to finish off the non-stored apples yesterday.
Now I can tackle the stores (which have to be checked periodically for rot) which usually last us through to late springtime.
Then we can relax until the next harvest. But they do taste good!

Chutney, I make a lot of apple chutney because everyone in the family wants jars of it.

Apple jelly. Mix apple jelly with blackberries to get bramble jelly and put herbs like mint, sage and rosemary in seperate batches for delicious herb jellies to stir into casseroles and stews or serve with lamb and pork chops and steaks.

Cider vinegar! Loads of recipes for it on line

Chocolate pudding, what a lovely idea. Here in East London, someone put quinces outside their door and I made quince jelly out of it.
Yes have loads of apples, must get on to storing them and making chutney.

Last autumn I made a lot of Apple butter using a recipe off the internet and froze it using yoghurt pots.
Once frozen I slid it from the pots and used the same pots to freeze another batch. Just put the frozen portions into freezer bags. Delicious on toast, also as a relish for cold meats. I still have some in the freezer.

Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. Glad I asked. I think I will offer them for free as I don't think I can make wine or cider now and storing them is a bit risky.

Gramaretto, why not offer your surplus apples on Freegle or Freecycle? There's almost certain to be someone who can use them.

Do let us know, paddyann. Our mix is Bramley, Egremont Russet, Golden Delicious, Crispin and Cox. None of them red skinned and our wine and cider is always a pale golden colour.

I don't think the skin colour affects the colour of the wine but I could be wrong.

Monica does the colour of the apple skins affect the colour of the wine? I have a lot of red apples in my batch and had hoped to get a rose ,am I wrong?

nfk, your post reminded me that nowadays my brother puts windfall apples from mum's tree with the empty milk bottles. The milkgirl's pigs love them ?

What a brilliant idea chocolatepudding well done you !

I used to do the same as Baggs Mum - wrap in newspaper and store in a cool place. If you have room.
You need to check they don't have any damage first.

I run a plant and produce stall outside my front gate here in rural East Anglia and I get lots of windfall apples as well as picked fruit donated. I just put them outside with a supply of paper and plastic bags and ask for a donation in aid of our local Hospice.

Some people just put a box of apples outside their gate with a note saying FREE help yourself.

Similarly to NfkDumpling's suggestion I give bags of apples to a needy family in the village and to another lady who makes pies for all her elderly neighbours.

Our local animal rescue centre appreciates windfall apples and veggies for their rescue chickens, pigs, goats, etc.

In the good old days when nothing was wasted my Mother used to make apple chutney, apple wine, pies, crumbles etc., had apples coming out of our ears.

I bottle surplus fruit, although the outlay on Kilner or similar jars is only worthwhile if you do it most years.
Pears are poached in wine or cider, but apples just plain and used for crumbles mostly, but apple sauce as well.
I started doing this as I struggle now to keep apples as Baggs has described. Our lovely modern house is too warm, and they attract mice if kept in the shed or porch (next door's cat is now too slow and I am allergic to cats!)

My mum used to wrap each fruit (cookers similar to but sweeter than Bramleys) in newspaper and pack them carefully in cardboard boxes, which were then kept in a cool place.

She'd be making the last few apple pies in March the following year.

Spiced apple chutney used up quite a lot and is nice. It will be given away at Christmas (sorry for using the 'C' word before the end of October.)

We make juice, cider and wine from apples. The wine has extra sugar and wine yeast added so has more alcohol.

A few years ago, when I saw how many apples we had I invested in a press. It produces better juice than the electric juicer machines. The juice can be drunk fresh or frozen or pasteurised by heating. If kept for a few days in the fridge it will start to ferment, but the fizz makes it very nice, before it really turns to cider.

We have made apple wine with apples and fermented it like a wine. It tastes like any other home made fruit or herb wine. With cider you crush apples to remove the juice and then leave the juice to ferment.

There is a difference, believe me, but whether hating one you would enjoy the other I just do not know.

Call me stupid ......( “stupid”) but what’s the difference between apple wine and apple cider ? Might I like apple wine if I hate cider but love apple juice ?

I love apple juice but hate cider. Apple juice sounds delicious merlot

we've a 5 gallon batch of Apple wine on the go ,as well as two 5 gallon batches of Bramble .Shame I dont drink anymore .