Haley’s Homespuns: Store Your Apples for Winter Use
10 Aug 2016
Apple of My Eye
It’s that fruitful time of year. Apples are ripening on the tree, and you’ve got way more than you can eat up. It’s easy to store apples and enjoy them raw or in dishes all winter long. Here’s how:
Only store undamaged apples. Damaged apples, even if they’re just bruised, release ethylene gas that will cause good apples to rot.
Individually wrap apples in parchment paper. Some blogs suggest you use newsprint, but we’ve found parchment paper works better. Wrapping each apple individually helps protect it from bruising and temporarily contains rot if an apple does become damaged.
Line your storage container with parchment paper. This helps insulate the apples and keeps the moisture level low. It’s not meant to cut off airflow—stored apples need some airflow to keep well. Gently fill the container with wrapped apples, but don’t let them touch each other. You can stack a layer or two of apples on top of each other, but put parchment paper between the layers.
Set the apple container in a refrigerator. The ideal storage temperature is around 30˚ F, but don’t let the temperature go lower than that (you can store apples at a higher temperature, but they will go bad more quickly). Alternatively, use an empty ice chest for a storage container if you don’t have the refrigerator space. But set it in an enclosed garage so the temperature inside the chest won’t dip too low when freezing weather hits.
Check the apples every month or so and remove any spoiled ones.
