Allotments 4 All

Hi

We have 4 trees dripping with apples tried one a few weeks ago and they were not quite sweet enough to eat so hoping they will be ok now.

Any ideas what i can do with them?

Cam

One year I made some nice apple jellies flavoured with herbs.  Uses up under ripe ones when I pick the excess off the trees to leave single fruits.

We now have porkers on site and they love apples even the ones with maggots in them.

It seems to me to be quite early for apples. Make sure they are really ripe before picking or the flavour is not so nice.
How do you store them? If you store them on flat trays, separated from each other, in a dark cool place, they will last ages. You can also bottle them as applesauce. Here in France when people have too many they go to a press and transform them into juice...

Cider?

We're in a similar position.  It depends very much on the variety of apple.  So far we've had Worcesters and Discoveries, being the early varieties.  They need a day or two after picking to mature, then they're ready to eat.  They don't keep at all well, so if that's the sort of thing you're picking, you can only eat them fresh or perhaps lightly cook them in the microwave, chill them, and eat them for breakfast with yoghurt or cereal.

The expected surplus of later apples can again be lightly cooked and then frozen, or wrapped in newspaper and stored.  Depending on variety, some will keep until after Christmas.

It's at this point that one appreciates the good keeping qualities of Cox and related varieties!

Down south from here is the perfect answer...
thegardencidercompany.co.uk/
I can personally endorse their product, but in moderation of course!
Doubtless there are other similar ventures around, google to find your nearest.