Apple Harvest & Storage: Keeping Fresh, Canning, Drying
Making the Most of Your Apple Harvest
An apple tree in the garden can yield 50–200 kg of fruit depending on variety and year. To keep this abundance from going to waste — and turn it into joy instead — you need good strategies.
Storage – the Simplest Method
Many apples can be stored fresh for months:
Requirements:
- Only store healthy, undamaged fruit
- Cool: according to the BZfE, ideally at about 7 °C in the vegetable drawer or in a cool cellar
- High humidity: don't let apples dry out
- Store individually or wrap in newspaper – one rotten apple spoils its neighbors
Storage duration by variety:
| Variety | Storage duration |
|---|---|
| Elstar, Jonagold | until February |
| Boskoop | until March |
| Storage apples (e.g. Braeburn) | until April |
| Early varieties (Klarapfel) | only days – process immediately |
Preserving: Applesauce & Apple Compote
Applesauce (makes about 5 jars of 400 ml):
- 2 kg apples (peeled, cored, diced)
- 4 tbsp sugar (to taste)
- Juice of one lemon
- 100 ml water
- Optional: cinnamon, vanilla
Cook everything until soft (20–25 min.), purée, fill into hot jars, seal immediately, then process in a boiling water bath – according to the NCHFP (Applesauce, hot pack) up to 1,000 ft: pints 15 minutes, quarts 20 minutes; so 15 minutes for the 400 ml jars here. Store cool and dark and check regularly. Filled without the water bath: keep in the fridge and use up quickly.
Drying: Apple Rings
The nicest way to preserve apples:
- Wash apples, peel (optional), remove the core
- Cut into rings about 5 mm thick
- Briefly dip in lemon water (prevents browning)
- Dry in a dehydrator at about 60 °C (the usual drying temperature according to the NCHFP) – depending on thickness roughly 8–12 hours (rule of thumb), until the rings are leathery with no moist core
- Done when leathery and chewy, no longer sticky
Shelf life: in airtight jars, dark and dry; according to the BZfE, best used within a year.
More Ideas for Using Your Apples
- Apple juice & cider – press and pasteurize, or ferment into hard cider/apple wine
- Apple chutney – perfect with cheese and game dishes
- Apple jelly – made from apple peels (rich in pectin)
- Freeze apple cake – bake it, then freeze in portions
- Dried apple chips with cinnamon & sugar – a popular kids' snack
Sources
- German Federal Centre for Nutrition (BZfE): Äpfel: Vom Einkauf in die Küche, accessed 5 Oct 2026
- National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP), University of Georgia: Applesauce, accessed 5 Oct 2026
- German Federal Centre for Nutrition (BZfE): Getrocknete Leckereien, accessed 5 Oct 2026
- National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP), University of Georgia: Food Dehydrators, accessed 5 Oct 2026
The sources support individual statements in this article. The organisations named have neither reviewed nor endorsed it.