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The Fall Harvest - Apples and Pears

© Pier Jones

I'll admit, I was not going to write about apples and pears just yet, but, as usual, my plans seem to have been changed for me. After an extremely hot, dry summer, we have been watching our fruit trees in amazement. They are positively loaded with fruit. It looks like the drought has even done us a favor, in one respect - although the fruits are small, they have not been plagued by worms.

A few days ago, we noticed the apples starting to turn just a bit. Understandably, and predictably, the cows ate all they could reach off the lower branches, and then the horses came along and ate their fill of fruit off the higher branches. But, when the bull started butting the trees to get the apples and pears to fall in order to eat them, I had to take action! After spending an afternoon in the bucket of the front-end loader, with my husband at the controls, the fruit was gathered, and the fun began! For those of you who have had, or are about to have, similar harvesting experiences (sans the front-end loader, no doubt), I offer a few suggestions as to what to do with your apples and pears.

If you are interested in canning your apples and pears in slices, as for pies and baking, I talked about the how-to's and gave recipes for the packing syrups in Canning Fruits. This time, let's talk about making applesauce, pearsauce, apple butter, and pear butter. The process for all are similar, and they are a good way to use up a great deal of produce.

For all, you are going to begin by preparing pulp. Wash, remove stem and blossom ends (where there is often decay, and enzymes that can destroy your product), and quarter or cube. Place in a large pan, and add about a cup of water, to prevent them sticking to the bottom. Simmer, covered, until soft. Run your fruit through a food mill (what a time saver!) or sieve.

Applesauce or Pearsauce:

For each pint of pulp, add 1/4-1/2 cup sugar (or to taste), and 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (to maintain color). If you like your applesauce spiced, try adding cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and/or ginger to taste. If you're a purist, like my 4-year-old, then sugar or honey do very nicely. Heat the pulp, sugar, and spices, if you choose to use them, stirring constantly to prevent sticking, to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer about 5 minutes. Ladle the hot sauce into hot jars, run a rubber (heat-resistant) spatula around the edge of the jar to release the air bubbles, and seal with two- piece lids, according to manufacturer's guidelines. Process quarts 25 minutes in a boiling water bath.

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