We’ve had some great photos coming in of the apple harvests over the past couple weeks – keep them coming! Send all your photos to [email protected].
There's nothing much better than picking apples on a beautiful summer day and taking those apples home to turn into applesauce, apple crisp or any other dish you can think of.
We look forward to seeing your photos!
It happens. As hard as we try and as much as we want to, there are times when Fruit Share just can’t help. Location, timing, or limited volunteer resources are the key reasons why sometimes we aren’t able to help out generous fruit owners.
What’s a fruit owner to do?
I’m glad you asked! Fruit owners do have other options for managing their backyard fruit. Here’s a list of creative harvesting ideas to consider:
Remember, harvesting doesn’t have to be a nasty chore – make it fun and get others involved. You’ll be glad you did!
This morning, my travelling buddy (Hector) and I, buckled up and drove over 800 lbs of apples to Apple Junction near Landmark, Manitoba. It was pressing day and we were scheduled to have some fresh, Manitoba Apple Cider made.
The van was packed with apples harvested by volunteers from backyards throughout the city. Thanks to the homeowners who offered up their apple trees and to the phenomenal volunteers who climbed, picked, raked and schlepped all those apples.
Here`s a play-by-play slideshow of my trip to Apple Junction. Enjoy!
Click here: Apple Cider Making Slideshow
We are excited to have a whole bunch of fruit preserving workshops lined up! Our workshops are free of charge and they are a great way to meet other volunteers and learn what you can do with all the lovely fruit you pick.
Spaces are limited, so please let us know if you would like to sign up for workshops. They will mostly take place on weekday evenings or on weekends.
We already have two scheduled:
1) Monday, August 22 in Wolseley: dehydrating fruit.
2) Thursday, August 25 in South Osborne: applesauce.
In September, we already have plans to have a baking workshop, another applesauce workshop and an apple chutney workshop. They should be a great deal of fun! We’re looking forward to seeing you there.
Fruit Share volunteers are fantastic! A big THANK YOU to all of our hard working volunteer fruit pickers. They have done a remarkable job of picking apples all throughout the city. While many Manitobans were lounging on the beach this hot, sunny weekend, our volunteers climbed ladders, raked compostables, picked and schlepped over 500 pounds of apples. Very impressive!
And still, the requests for Fruit Share volunteers to pick fruit are coming in fast and furious. In fact, the amount of fruit available for picking is beginning to exceed our volunteer pickers’ capacity. As we suspected, even with over 160 volunteers, we can’t accommodate all the requests for fruit picking that we’re getting.
What’s a fruit owner to do?
Just because Fruit Share may not be able to help, all is not lost. We’re encouraging homeowners to be creative and consider other ways to harvest their own fruit. To help them in that regard, we developed this resource offering creative harvesting options for fruit owners.
We’re glad to help when we can, but if we can’t, please consider other options for putting all that amazing prairie fruit to good use.
Aug.12,2011There’s a saying about making lemonade when you have lemons. Well, we’ve got apples, so we’re making apple cider!
We have a lot of picking opportunities all around the city. If you’re not already actively picking apples, Apple Cider is another reason why you might want to get picking this weekend.
Between now and Tuesday, all apples are being picked for the purpose of making apple cider. Only volunteers helping to pick these apples will get an opportunity to buy some of this delicious, fresh, organic apple cider.
Take a look at how and where it’s made in this post from last year. Apple Cider 2010
We’ll be taking our apples to Apple Junction on Tuesday, August 16. Volunteers who pick juicing apples pay $2/2 litres + $3/4 litres for fresh cider. We think that’s reasonable, since Vita Health sells a 4-litre jug of apple cider/juice from Santa Cruz for $12.99!
Want some? Email [email protected] now to find a picking location near you!
(Yup, this is pure bribery, but hey, we’ll do just about anything to rescue those apples!
My family and I were out for a leisurely Sunday afternoon stroll when suddenly I spotted a fruit tree. By now, my kids and hubby are so used to me coveting my neighbour’s fruit (isn’t that one of the 7 mortal sins?!) that they just groan and walk on. But this tree was different. This tree had yellow fruit. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an apricot tree.
That got everyone’s attention! We stood and admired the tree for a moment and then strolled on wondering what fabulous recipes the homeowner had in mind for their golden gems.
Shortly after we got home, I typed up a lovely note to the homeowner to inquire about the tree and if I could take some photos, what their favourite apricot recipes were and if they needed any help picking those apricots. Of course, I left my name and phone number in case they wanted to contact me.
Much to my delight the homeowner called several days later and gave me permission to take pictures and to harvest the apricots! Yippee!
By the time I got back to the apricots, the wind and rain had knocked the ripe ones to the ground (when they’re ripe, there’s a very limited picking time). I harvested a small batch which are still not quite ripe (notice the green tinge). I have them covered and resting on my counter. Hopefully in a few days they’ll become soft and ripe. In the meantime, I have to look for some recipes that I can include in “The Guide to Backyard Fruit”.
Do you have any family favourite apricot recipes?
Want to get a sense of how many pounds of apples you’ve picked?
Here are some approximate references to help you figure it out.
A 4 litre ice cream pail = 4 lbs of apples
A plastic shopping bag full = 12-15lbs
A SuperStore Green box full = 30lbs
A cardboard apple box = 50lbs
As shown by Professional Home Economist, Getty Stewart on MAHE’s Family and Home Segment on Breakfast Television on August 9, 2011
It doesn’t matter what size or type of apple you have, this recipe will turn any apples into a delicious, versatile apple sauce. Once you’re done, read further for a list of inspiring ideas for how you can use your homemade apple sauce.
Ingredients
6 lbs of apples (crab apples, apple crabs or eating apples)
1 cup of water
*This recipe works for whatever quantity or variety of apples you have.
Preparation
Wash apples and remove any leaves. (You do not have to remove the core, peel or stems.)
Cut apples into quarters or halves depending on size.
Pour water into large stock pot.
Add apples to the pot.
Cover and bring to boil.
Turn heat to low and let apples simmer until they are soft and mushy (20-30 minutes).
Stir every 10 minutes and add more water if mixture is too thick or dry (consistency will vary depending on your apples).
Take off heat.
Separate cores, peels, and stems from the sauce with a food mill or by squishing the mix through a strainer.
Enjoy your applesauce!
Now that you have fresh, homemade applesauce, here are some ideas for what you can do with it:
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