The color will fade a little, but will not bleach out totally. Usually pickling slightly underripe is fine for home canning. Not sure what they cook down like, as some turn to mush quite fast, while others hold up very well. Suggest that you pick some, and give them a cooking test right now. Once you know what they do after cooking, you can just go back and grab more.

I have 4 trees of these, and this is the first year they've born any fruit. I dunno if the birds are going to leave me any to try.....

I took the half of apple that was left, diced it, added a little water and sprinkled some sugar on top before simmering for a couple of minutes. After briefly smooshing it a spoon, it looked like this. Granted, I only cooked it for just over 5 minutes, but the color didn't fade at all. I imagine after processing it could. It is quite neon. They might be good for raspberry applesauce. When I made it last time, the color faded to an unappealing shade after a few months.

Yes, looks very good. Mine was not shaped like the elongated one in your photo though. I think you should pick every last one now and can, freeze, and bake all of them into some nice things.. To add a bit more color, use a few cranberries too..

Ken,
We're going to try to get over there on Sunday when tall hubby can help out.
Melly

We went and picked them all today. There are approx 45 pounds of them. Then we foraged amongst the stinging nettles and came home with about 3 lbs of wild blackberries. The first thing I'll make is an apple blackberry crumble. I've already frozen a couple of quarts of blackberries for later cobblers/crumbles so I might make jam out of these.

Any suggestions for what to make with red apples besides apple sauce?

Slice and partially cook them, add a bit of lemon juice and ascorbic acid, the freeze. They should hold up quite well. The partially cooking helps to hold the color and shape a bit better. All my apples are picked, not one single wormy one either.. I peeled and cut up the last batch and have them in the fridge for use in a few days when I make a big strudel using phillo dough.

wow! that is really a beautiful applesauce. what kind of apples are they and what kind of taste do they have, tart? sweet?

I have no idea what kind of apples they are. It is a poor neglected tree near my husband's employment. The taste/texture of the apple reminded me of a Macintosh. Some of the windfalls that I used in the blackberry apple crisp were a tad on the mealy side. They turned mushy quite quickly which will be good for applesauce. They made a fine crisp.

Usually a mealy apple is a sign of an over mature apple. I had a few on my trees too. Next year, mark the date you picked them, and subtract two weeks to the date, so you pick a little earlier. If the tree shows signs of neglect, you can opt to prune a little of it if your allowed back in. There are only a couple of red fleshed apples, and because yours has a longish lobe area off the bottom and lower sides, its probably a strain from a Delicious apple culture. Some apple types do break down when heated. Here, I chose, and planted apple types that were suitable for baking and cooking, and still hold their shape when peeled and sliced for pies.

Ken, That makes sense about those being over mature. The one I picked off the tree the other day was still under-ripe, but I kept the wind-falls that I picked up separate to use first. I'm hoping they have plenty of anti-oxidants.

Pomegranite juice added to apples is a great way to get more antioxidents. There is now a berry called a 'Goji' that is soaked in the juice and dried. I found these in a bag at either Costco or BJ's. The flavor is a bit like cranberries. Even for that, cranberries can also be added. Once an apple tree starts to drop a lot of its apples, its a good indication that picking should be done. Its ok to pick and find a few lesser ripe ones, as they just get added to the mix.

Carol,
Here's the picture of the crazy apples.
Melly

Melly,
You forgot the photo/link.. Oops!

Wow, I see from the cooked apple how bright the flesh is. Thanks for sharing that.

Carol

Right now, Stark Brothers has a sale on many fruit trees and berries. In their flyer today, I saw an all red flash Scarlet Surprise apple. These need a pollinator like a red delicious, Stark Crimson, or even a golden delicious. Its a semi dwarf that ripens in September. Sale price is just $15.99, even tough it doesnt state that price. Sale is until May 17. Check it out...

Here is a link that might be useful: Stark Bros. Scarlet Surprise