I've been collecting a lot of apples lately but we can only collect what we can store. Fresh food storage at our place at the moment is relatively none existent, but my mother has a great unheated room that she keeps things like apples and potatoes in all winter.  |
| Easy to spot fruit that's gone bad |
The cooking apples on the bottom two racks (Scotch Bridget) will even keep until April/May like this on these simple racks, whereas the Cox on top won't last that long because they will have been eaten long before that! We only bother to store prefect fruit as any blemish or damage makes the fruit rot a lot faster.
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| Large shelves I built for my mum to store her old apples racks on. |
So this got me wondering how does everyone else store their apples over winter? I've lot's of old books that cover the subject and one day I'd love to build a proper store for apples. Storing your produce is probably as key to self sufficiency as anything and there is little point to me having so many apple trees if I can stop the fruit from rotting!
We are storing ours in trays like yours in our walk in pantry, it's our first attempt at storage so not sure how it will turn out
ReplyDeleteKeeping them cool seems to be key but making sure there is air flow. Good luck with it and let me know how you do!
DeleteWhat amazing shelves! We, unfortunately, have nowhere to store fresh apples so I had to turn all the apples into applesauce and can it. Hoping down the road, for a nice cellar!
ReplyDeleteA cellar would be great but I'm going to build an apple store one day!
DeleteWe have to can most of our apples. We have mice that eat them. So much grain is raised around here that I guess there is a good population out in the fields. I would have to build a cage to put that kind of thing in.
ReplyDeleteI saw a load of mice prints this morning going to the chicken feed so I'll have to get the traps out again and the posion if I'm to stay on top of them!
DeleteEven the unheated rooms in our house would be too warm I think and anywhere else there would be mice in in no time. So I wrap in newspaper and store in a cardboard box with something over the top and keep them out in the shed. Plus lots in the freezer too.
ReplyDeleteLove those shelves.
I used to wrap every other one in newspaper and store them in big baskets but they seem to store well in this room, it's a big old house so keeps a pretty steady temperature
DeleteI make it into applesauce...the unheated storage areas are too cold in the winter...the heated areas attract mice.
ReplyDeleteJane x
How cold does it get in a shed or outbuilding out there? Sounds much more servere than our winters
DeleteArranged on egg trays in the cupboard that used to house the boiler until a combi was fitted, it's about the coolest in the house.
ReplyDeleteI guess they're easy to check there as well. I think thats a key point to remove any rotten fruit before it spreads to the others.
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