Pies? They are to be peeled and sliced first. Watch for worms too. Not sure why they were picked green, but maybe next year give them more time on the tree. Very underripe green apples are not good eating, but once sweetened, flavored, and cooked, you can do a bit more with them. The Apple Pie jam recipe might work well too, but you would start off with frozen apple concentrate (undiluted), and/or boiled down cider. The apples would be cut into small bits and added at a stage just before canning. Here, my two big apple trees actaully ripen about 2 weeks apart. The Red Free I have, has red flesh inside once the apples are all deep red skinned.

I'm assuming your daughter picked them up off the ground to proudly bring home to you :-)

You could do a Google search on "windfall apples" for a lot of ideas. Green apples are a great source of natural pectin for jam/jelly making.

Here is a link that might be useful: What to Do with Windfall Apples

The neighbor had a sign that said "free apples". I think they picked them off the tree. I often pick "wild edibles" when I can find them. Like mother like daughter. kim

Any of the tips for windfall (or under-ripe) apples should still apply if there's anything that fits your pantry needs. One thing I did a few years ago (well, maybe it was more like twenty years ago) when I had five shopping bags of apples that my sister (literally) dropped off on my porch was I made apple butter. I have no idea what I put in it (this was - gasp! - before I had access to the Internet), but I do remember EVERYBODY got apple butter that year for Christmas. They all loved it and they are all still alive :-)

I'm like you - I can't pass up "free food"...

Raw green apples - unless they were Granny Smith's - are poorly digested. But cooked, no problem. Green apples are great sliced and fried as a supper side dish. Just saute them in butter or margarine and when tender sprinkle the skillet full with sugar to taste - let it carmelize a bit before serving.

They can also be dried and used, mixed with fresh, for Dried Apple Pie or turnovers (both freeze well). Then there is applesauce - will need extra sugar and of course the required lemon juice for windfalls. But I agree with Malna - apple butter can't be beat. ;)

Either way just be sure to cook them well before eating.

Dave

Apple pie jam !!! Should be fine.

Thanks for the ideas...she wants applebutter, so that's what we'll make.

k

Thanks for all the suggestions.
I can't believe that she peeled all the apples. They were beautiful. (no wormholes etc) and sweeter than I expected. We made a lovely batch of applebutter. Yesterday she brought home another bag. Maybe she will also peel these as well.

kim

How great that your daughter is interested in cooking/canning type activities.

My step-grandkids were quite stunned to discover that tomatoes grow on a plant, NOT in a plastic box at the grocery store :-) I taught them how to make homemade noodles, and now the first words after "Hi" are "What are we going to make today?"

Now you need one of those cheap crank type gadgets that peel, slice ansd core the apples all at once. My bushel took only a couple of hours to do, but thats also because a few were mishapen, and needed a knife to cut away a few of the seed cavities. Just when out and found 4 apples I missed. They are much crisper than the ones that sat here in the kitchen all through my 17 day hospital stay. Tossed out a lot of rotten and mushy ones too.

Yeah, I used to have one, I lost it or it broke. I can peel pretty fast though. I'm so glad that apples keep because I have so much other canning/freezing to do. But I'm finally almost done so I'm going to put up more apple today. Another batch of apple butter and apple pie jam. I wish I dad the apple and pear trees we had when I was growing up. We would pick bushels. Last year we planted 3 apples and 2 pears ordered from Miller's Nursery. That good but it'll be a few years before I'll get fruit.

k

I get my stuff from Starke Bros. They seem to be bigger stock. When you fertilize the apples, add some fruit tree fertilizer around them. I use the Gradens Alive fruit tree ferts. The build up formula 2 times per year in spring and fall to 2 years. Then the maintenance formular after that, twice a year. The maint formula also works very well for red paspberies. My Asian pears here, I bought from a lady who was selling on eBay. One tree has two Asian pears on it right now, ready to pick. The other two are smaller, and one died the first year show she replaced it. Asian pears need no sprays of any kind, as the skins are russeted. Shinko, New Century, and a third one. I also have a quince tree, 5 apple trees, and a peach/plum/apricot. All are doing quite well

Here is a link that might be useful: Inexpensive apple peeler..

Thank you ksrogers,
I will look into the fertilizer. I'd love to have more fruit, I hope to add a few more trees next spring. You must have a wonderful garden.

kim

The two low-chill apple trees that were planted 2 or 3 years ago, gave a fairly decent crop this year. Both are dwarf, but I was pleased with the crop for such small plants. One is called Anna - the other Dorsett Golden, both were developed for our warmer climate.

I used some of the larger Anna's for canned sauce - in hot water bath canner. The smaller apples were processed for juice and frozen in those little water bottles that my grand daughter uses daily - they were bleached and cleaned thoroughly, and had only one usage.

The apples were cleaned, de-seeded - leaving peelings on, then boiled down till mushy, pureed in the food processor, strained, bottled and frozen.

The juice is a bit thick, but a great addition to things like fruity teas, or mixed drink recipes. We recently purchased a CO2 dispenser which also can be used to make "apple soda" - nice refreshing treat.

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay

my anna apple put out more apples this year than last and last year was the first time for fruiting. Tree has been in the ground now 7 years. This year I'm still having the same problems. Too small, deformed, falling off the tree. The ones higher up are a little bit bigger, but nowhere the size and shape of pictures other gardners have posted. I'm in Houston and we have not had any rain to speak of, I have watered the tree but it's not the same as mother nature. Any ideas?

Suggest you add some tree fertilizer. The orgainc type sold by Gardens Alive. They have two formulas, one for building up nutrients and the other for maintenance fertilizing. The deformed apples should be a thing of the past if they get this fert. It contains a trace amount of boron which can help to reduce misshapen fruits. It also helpes in growing decent shaped strawberies. I add it to my peach, asian pear, cherry, and quince trees too. Lats year I had sotty bloch on the apples due to excessive rain. This year, I have been spraying with anti fungals like Captan, which help to reduce the discoloration. The sooty blotch isn't had in taste, only in appearance on the apples. Mine are quite early, Red Free, and Williams Pride. Bot are suitable for canning an baking too. I now have 5 apple trees, and the other three are collonade types which have limbs that grow traight up as opposed to branching out, wich makes them very compact growers. Three of my trees have apples this year, and the early ones already have a red blush on them even though they are still smaller than golf balls. Apples can also get damge from codling moths. For them, I use scent lures and red sphere sticky traps. By late summer the traps are loaded with bugs, but not the apples!

Here is a link that might be useful: Fruit tree fert.

If Anna is not pollinated you will get misshapened fruit. Dorsett Golden will pollinate Anna because it is also an early bloomer.

Zeuspaul

Another pollinator is the introduction of orchard mason bees. These bees are non aggressive and nest in 6 inch long tubes. They emerge when temps are higher than 50 degrees and then lay eggs soon after for the folowing year. By the end of April here, they are gone back to nests. I routinely remove used tubes in fall from my nesting boxes, so they have clean quarters the following year.