Who doesn’t love apples? They’re crisp, juicy, and vibrant, and can be used in an insane number of recipes.
Their deliciousness may make you want to use your apples as soon as you get them. But, what if you want to set some apples aside for the cooler months? Or, if you have an overabundance of apples from a local orchard or your own trees?
In those cases, you’ll need some way of preserving the apples. This is also true if you have a ton of baking planned, but not enough time to do it.
There are multiple preservation options, including canning and dehydrating your apples. Today, we’re interested in how to freeze apples. This is a powerful approach, as you can thaw the apples later and use them in many of your favorite recipes.
The process for freezing apples starts with basic prep work, after which you freeze the apple pieces on a baking tray and transfer them to a bag or freezer safe container. Be sure to remove as much air as possible and label the container. Then, you’re good to go.
Of course, there are some complexities to think about, like how you use apples once they’re thawed and whether you add anything before freezing them. Here are our top tips for freezing apples so you get the best results every time.
How To Freeze Apples
The first part of freezing apples is the prep work, starting with rinsing the apples. Then, you can peel, core, and chop them (an apple corer makes this part much easier).
Peeling is entirely optional. You can easily keep the apple unpeeled, providing more nutrients and a little extra texture. The apple pieces will freeze well either way.
That said, if your recipe calls for peeled apples, be sure to peel them before freezing. Thawed apples are much more difficult to peel.
If you’re prepping many apples at once, you can throw the peeled and/or cut pieces into a bowl with a little lemon juice. This stops them from browning while you’re working on the rest. If you do so, you’ll need to dry the apples again before moving forward.
Next is a two-step freezing process.
The apples should be carefully laid out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure that the pieces aren’t touching or they will freeze together.
You can spritz the apples with lemon juice at this stage. Doing so reduces the chance of browning and improves the quality of your apples.
This baking tray is then placed in the freezer for a couple of hours. After this, the apple pieces can be transferred to a freezer bag or a freezer safe container.
The two-step approach helps keep your apple piece separated. This allows you to grab a few pieces, rather than dealing with a large chunk of frozen apple. Plus, with the pieces separated like this, you can use them while frozen or partially thawed, rather than waiting for them to completely thaw.
Other Ways To Freeze Apples
Freezing Whole Apples
The previous steps are the most common ways to freeze apples, giving you a version that’s suitable for countless recipes. Yet, there’s a decent amount of work involved, especially if you have a large batch of apples.
Why not skip all that work and freeze whole apples instead? This is as simple as washing and drying your apples, wrapping them well, then getting them into the freezer. This is much faster than peeling, coring, and chopping dozens of apples, especially when you don’t have much time.
The catch is that your frozen apples won’t be very practical. You’ll likely still need to peel and chop them before use, which is now more challenging as the apples have become mushy.
As such, it’s much better to prep apples before freezing instead of after. The main exception is if you are very short on time. Here, freezing apples whole apples might be the only way to avoid wasting them.
Freezing Apple Pie Filling
You can take things a step further and freeze apple pie filling. This often involves mixing apple pieces with sugar, a thickening ingredient, ground spices, and possibly some lemon juice.
You could even cook up the filling from your favorite apple pie recipe, allow it to cool, then freeze it. When the filling is needed, just thaw it in the fridge overnight and use it as you normally would.
This approach allows you to quickly make pies, especially if you buy pastry sheets or pre-made pie crusts. Of course, the filling is much less versatile than frozen apple slices. You can make pie or perhaps a cobbler with it, but that’s about all.
Freezing Applesauce
Instead of freezing apples themselves, you might try freezing applesauce instead. The approach applies to store bought and homemade applesauce.
This is as simple as storing the applesauce in a freezer safe container and putting it in the freezer. The applesauce is ready to use again as soon as it’s thawed. You could even gently heat it from frozen.
Applesauce is already mushy, so freezing and thawing it doesn’t affect the texture much at all.
Another trick is to freeze the applesauce in a silicone mold or ice cube tray. Once frozen, you can transfer the applesauce cubes to a freezer bag. Doing so makes it easy to use small amounts of applesauce at a time.
Tips For Freezing Apples
Label The Containers
This is essential whenever you’re freezing food. Despite your best intentions, you’re likely to forget what you froze and when you froze it.
Including the date also helps you to use the oldest frozen apples first. With any luck, no containers will be sitting in your freezer for more than six months or so.
Think About The Apple Variety
All apples freeze well, but the sweeter varieties hold their flavor better than the tart varieties. This makes Fuji and Gala apples excellent for freezing, while Granny Smith and Braeburn apples aren’t quite so good.
It’s also important to write the apple variety on the container label. This way, you don’t end up accidentally using Granny Smith apples in a recipe that should use Fuji apples or vice versa.
Avoid Freezer Burn
Oxygen is the enemy when you’re freezing food, contributing to changes in color, flavor, and texture, as well as freezer burn. Airtight containers are an essential part of avoiding these issues.
If you’re using bags, you should get as much air out as possible. Containers should be mostly full, but leave around half an inch of headroom in case there’s any expansion (particularly if you’re freezing apple puree rather than apple slices).
Experiment With Batch Freezing
If you’re freezing a large amount of apples at a time, it may help to work in batches. Once a batch is complete, get the apples onto a baking sheet in the freezer and start on the next.
You can even have two or three batches on the same freezer sheet before transferring them to a container. This works because the first batch should have sufficiently frozen before the next goes in.
Plan How You’re Going To Use Them
It’s also worth thinking about how you will use the apples. Will you make applesauce, smoothies, a pie, stuffing, or something else?
The planned use will tell you what size to cut the apples and whether to leave their skins on. If you’re unsure, try peeling the apples and cutting them into small pieces. This is one of the most versatile ways of prepping apples and will work for most situations.
What Happens When You Freeze Apples?
Needless to say, freezing changes apples. They’re softer and spongier than regular apples, lacking that familiar crunch.
This texture change makes thawed apples unappealing on their own. It also makes thawed apples a poor choice for recipes that rely on the texture of your apples, like fresh salads or serving apple slices with cheese.
Thawed apples also tend to be moister than fresh ones, which also affects some recipes.
The exact effect depends on the type of apple and how it has been frozen. In particular, apples with a lower water content may end up less mushy, especially if they were frozen rapidly. Still, a thawed apple will never have the crispness of a fresh apple. Nothing will change that.
How To Use Frozen Apples
Despite their change in texture, raw apples are surprisingly versatile. They’re best used in dishes that don’t rely on the textire of apples, including:
- Smoothies. Apples add a slight sweetness and delicious flavor to your smoothie. You can even use them while they’re completely frozen. This is a great way to get the traditional smoothie texture without ice.
- Pies. Frozen apple pieces are fantastic in pies and can be used without thawing. They may even hold their structure better than fresh or thawed apples.
- Applesauce. Applesauce is meant to be mushy anyway, so thawed apples work just as well as fresh ones here.
- Stewed apples and apple compote. The texture of apples gets broken down with these dishes too, making thawed apples a great choice.
- Baked apples. Many baked apple recipes (like this one) can be made with fresh or thawed apples. Just be sure to cut the apples to the right thickness before freezing.
- Baking. You can also include thawed chopped apples in many baking recipes, like muffins, crumbles, and quick breads. The softness of your thawed apples works well here.
- Stuffing. Thawed apples work well in savory recipes too, including stuffing. The moistness of the apple pieces may even be an advantage, as stuffing can easily be too dry. Here, it helps to partially thaw the apples rather than using them from frozen.
How Long Do Frozen Apples Last?
Frozen produce, like zucchini and green beans, tends to last up to a year in the freezer. This is true for apples as well.
Still, a year is the maximum time you can keep your apples, not the ideal. The flavor naturally decreases with time, so it’s best to use your apples within six months or perhaps even three.
Other Ways To Preserve Apples
Dehydrated Apples
Dehydration is simply the process of removing water from your apples. Dehydrated apples can be crispy or chewy, depending on the duration of drying, and often have a strong apple flavor. They can be sweet too, although the sweetness varies depending on the type of apple.
To do so, you’ll need to wash and dry your apples, then slice them into thin uniform slices. The skin can be left on or removed, it’s up to you.
If desired, you can also dip the apples in a mixture of lemon water. The acidity prevents browning without many effects on the flavor.
A dehydrator is the most powerful tool to use. You can simply lay out the apple slices on the dehydrator tray(s) and set it going.
The exact runtime and temperature will be influenced by the dehydrator model, type of apple, and thickness of your apple pieces. However, you’re often looking at around 125 °F to 135°F for 6 to 12 hours.
You can also use your oven at its lowest setting with the door cracked open. This requires more attention and the drying isn’t as even, but you’ll still end up with delicious dehydrated apples.
Canned Apples
Apples are a high acid food, so they can be safely canned at home using water bath canner. Crisp apples work well here, as these hold their shape the best. You could go with a single variety or can multiple varieties together for an interesting flavor balance.
You’ll need some type of preserving liquid. This can be just water or some type of sweet syrup, including apple juice, sugar syrup, and honey syrup.
You don’t need to stick with canned apples on their own either. Some people add spices to improve the flavor or even make canned pie filling. Canning applesauce is an option as well.
Fermented Apples
Apples can be fermented as well, which gives them a distinct tart flavor profile and reduces their sweetness. When made well and stored in the fridge, fermented apples can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
The flavor profile becomes richer and more complex as the apples ferment, so they often taste better if left for at least a month.
Food hygiene practices are crucial when you’re canning or fermenting apples. You need to be certain that everything is cleaned and sanitized well. Otherwise, the risk of contamination and food poisoning is simply too high.
Apple Products
Instead of preserving apples themselves, you could simply make products that last longer than apples themselves. Apple butter, apple jelly, fermented apple sauce, apple wine, apple cider, and even apple cider vinegar are all examples of this approach.
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