Comments on Utah Deal Diva: Helping Utah families live on less!: Ideas on Using & Preserving Apples

Does anyone have any tips on keeping dehydrated ap...

2010-10-11T22:41:48.148-06:00

Does anyone have any tips on keeping dehydrated apples? If we don't eat them right away they go mushy or stale. I don't put sugar or anything on them. I think they taste sweet enough without adding more.

Diva, you are my new hero. This is my first time ...

2010-10-09T12:20:19.040-06:00

Diva, you are my new hero. This is my first time to your frugal cooking area, and your explanations and pictures are SO wonderful. You really make the thought of "how do I do this" happen. THANKS!

My tip: use crock pot liners and avoid the dreaded clean up.

My question: My heart breaks when I see tree after tree in town covered with fruit, and no one using it

Thanks for all the recipes and advice, everyone! ...

2009-10-18T04:00:30.995-06:00

Thanks for all the recipes and advice, everyone! For those who have pears and apples, the two together make a great pie filling. A friend brought over a pie the other day and since he had pears and apples he needed to use up he made it with both and I think it's even better than pie filling with just apples. I've got some apples I'm going to be preparing this week and it's nice

Ok so when do you start you food dehydrating? Its ...

2009-10-16T11:31:13.816-06:00

Ok so when do you start you food dehydrating? Its seems like it would take days to do batches...

The hamemade cinnamin apples. How do you store the...

2009-10-07T11:00:58.138-06:00

The hamemade cinnamin apples. How do you store them? Freeze them ? I'm New to all this

I read about the different properties of starches ...

2009-10-07T10:27:01.257-06:00

I read about the different properties of starches the other day, maybe try arrowroot for the cinnamon apples next time (... and let me know how it turned out, lol)
Quote: "arrowroot starch = arrowroot powder = arrowroot = arrowroot flour This starch thickener has several advantages over cornstarch. It has a more neutral flavor, so it's a good thickener for delicately flavored

I made pear sauce last week, but the texture was a...

2009-10-06T18:53:04.408-06:00

I made pear sauce last week, but the texture was a little grainy. I think it had more to do with the pears themselves rather than my technique, but I'm not sure. Will try again :) I made my daughter's baby food with storebought produce, pears included, and never had that graininess problem. Hmm.

Instead of buying the tiny bottle of fruit fresh, ...

2009-10-06T15:35:35.308-06:00

Instead of buying the tiny bottle of fruit fresh, you can buy a giant bottle (1 lb) of Vitamin C Crystal (aka ascorbic acid) from Trader Joe's or from a health food store. This is what I use for all of my canning.

To Garden State Smiths--I haven't made cinnamon pears like that, but I have made pear butter with the same spices as apple butter; it turns out really nicely!
I

I make up apple pies and freeze them. Just prepar...

2009-10-06T15:27:25.690-06:00

I make up apple pies and freeze them. Just prepare as you would for baking and wrap in plastic wrap. I place the pies in the freezer overnight and then wrap them in freezer paper the next day. Once wrapped in the freezer paper I stack them in the freezer with pieces of cardboard between them.

You technically don't need the Fruit Fresh to ...

2009-10-06T14:36:44.175-06:00

You technically don't need the Fruit Fresh to prevent the apples from browning. Just soak the apples in 4 cups water to 1/4 cup lemon juice. Works like a charm.

I may try cinnamon pears in the next couple of day...

2009-10-06T14:29:03.200-06:00

I may try cinnamon pears in the next couple of days, and I'll report back with the results! Even if it's a bust, we'll still have more pears than we know what to do with :)

Emily- share your Apple Butter recipe with us!! I ...

2009-10-06T14:25:54.472-06:00

Emily- share your Apple Butter recipe with us!! I still have some apples left- I think that sounds like a great use for them!

GardenState- cinnamon pears do sound incredible! I'm not sure how it would work out though- pears have a much higher water content than apples. A baked cinnamon-pear tart would be heavenly though!

We have a camp chef stove so we can do most of our...

2009-10-06T14:24:11.426-06:00

We have a camp chef stove so we can do most of our canning outside, although when it starts to be cold outside, I don't mind heating up the house so much.

We canned tons of applesauce this year- we were going to dry some in our dehydrator too, but didn't get around to it.

I second the crockpot applesauce/apple butter! And...

2009-10-06T14:20:56.474-06:00

I second the crockpot applesauce/apple butter! And I LOVE making dried apples. The low slow temperature of the oven warms up my kitchen and makes my house smell SOOO good! Its one of my favorite fall things to do!

Yes it will crack your stove. Don't do it on ...

2009-10-06T14:01:59.317-06:00

Yes it will crack your stove. Don't do it on a glass top! Sad. If you have too many and can't give them away, take them to the food bank. The ones in Utah take fresh produce and it will go to someone in need.

We have a pear tree in our backyard -- do you thin...

2009-10-06T14:00:26.991-06:00

We have a pear tree in our backyard -- do you think some of these things would work with pears as well? I bet cinnamon pears would be yummy!

I made some apple butter overnight in the crockpot...

2009-10-06T12:04:45.271-06:00

I made some apple butter overnight in the crockpot with a recipe I got off of allrecipes.com. It was fabulous!! Emily

Summer- I have a glass top stove. That's what ...

2009-10-05T13:42:16.451-06:00

Summer- I have a glass top stove. That's what really prevents me from canning. I've heard of people canning stuff anyways on it, but I'm too nervous- I really don't want to crack my stove from the prolonged high temps!

You might be surprised to realize you probably hav...

2009-10-05T13:34:25.556-06:00

You might be surprised to realize you probably have nearly all of the items necessary for canning already in your kitchen. :) All you need for canning high acid foods (most fruits) are jars, tongs, dish towels, a large pot with lid, ladle and a recipe. I can jam and syrup every year with just these items.

I put up a canning video recently about canning jam but the same basic principles

This is why I love blogging. So many good tips fr...

2009-10-05T13:16:57.594-06:00

This is why I love blogging. So many good tips from strangers. THANK YOU THANK YOU! Keep up to GREAT blogging work. Staci

I have so many apples on my tree and my neighbors ...

2009-10-05T06:23:49.494-06:00

I have so many apples on my tree and my neighbors tree. Unfortunately I've canned myself out this year, but I keep looking at those apples and imagining apple pie I really don't want to let them go to waste or just the birds, so I think I will use some of your tips and get to work. Thanks for posting this!

I am so impressed that you used up so many apples ...

2009-10-04T19:22:23.815-06:00

I am so impressed that you used up so many apples without canning anything! I'm gonna copy you this year I think.:-) And the apple peeler/corer sounds FANTASTIC!

I have seen it on the baking isle usually by the p...

2009-10-04T19:04:24.427-06:00

I have seen it on the baking isle usually by the pectin, pudding and those sorts of products.

I agree! When I went, Walmart had set up an entire...

2009-10-04T15:52:15.750-06:00

I agree! When I went, Walmart had set up an entire section over by the home goods section (where the seasonal yard stuff goes) of canning/ preserving items. Normally, I am not sure where it would be. By the spices? Anyone know?

I have a hard time navigating Walmart. It is big ...

2009-10-04T15:34:55.435-06:00

I have a hard time navigating Walmart. It is big and sometimes not intuitive. Can you please tell us in which section to look for Fruit Fresh?