Now we are processing our three boxes (Yes, that is 120 pounds of apples). Before taking this on I checked with the kids. Did they want apple butter and apple chips this year? Yes! Were they willing to do the work, knowing that I was not up to doing much of the work? Yes! OK then. They have been pealing and coring our apples for the past few days. The little kids love to eat the long strings of apple peel (its our version of "fruit by the foot").
Within a few hours of the apples arriving at our home we had a batch in the dehydrator. The second batch is now drying.
Yesterday I canned our apple butter. That was my contribution to the apple processing.
Miss E made an apple pie. It was perfect!
Even the peels and cores do not go to waste. After the kids got their fill (of the peels) we filled gallon sized jars with the cores and peels to make apple cider vinegar. The rest are going to our rabbits and chickens (and if they get their fill we will take the remainder to our friends' goats).
You can see bubbles in the jar and foam at the top. This is the fermenting process happening. It will not be long before this batch is smelling like apple wine, then it will continue on to vinegar! This will be used all year for cleaning and in some cooking.
The kids will continue to dehydrate apples for the next week or so. They also have plans for apple sauce and maybe another pie. The fruit drawer in the refrigerator is full of the smallest apples (the perfect size for little snackers) that we skimmed off of the boxes as soon as we got them. We will be enjoying these apples in some form or another for the next year!
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