One Rotten Apple – Nutrition and Food Safety (2024)

Fall is here; winter is coming, and now is the time of the year when the smell of apples and cinnamon pervades the air, giving a warm and cozy feeling.

But when the Honey Crisp in the back of your fridge ends up less than Golden Delicious, what should you do? No fear; there are many ways to use old apples that still deliver great taste and nutritional value!

Apple Butter

Old apples make perfect apple butter for your morning toast or bagel. Simply bring to a simmer, partially cover, and cook until the apples are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in lemon juice, cinnamon, vanilla, and cloves. Puree the mixture in a blender in batches until smooth. Apple butter can even be made in a slow cooker, and your house will have that delicious fall smell all day long.

Homemade Applesauce

Homemade applesauce is an excellent use of old apples and is very similar to the process of making apple butter. Applesauce just uses water, sugar, or honey and has a chunkier consistency. Many chefs recommend using cinnamon sticks instead of ground cinnamon when making applesauce and then removing the sticks after cooking.

Apple Fruit Leather

Fruit leather is a great healthy alternative to the preservative-laden fruit snacks kids love. It is basically apple butter with some sugar, corn syrup, or honey that has been dried in a very low oven until it is tacky but doesn’t stick to your finger for about 2-3 hours. It can be stored up to one month at room temperature and up to a year in the freezer, but don’t count on this delicious snack sticking around that long.

Apple Smoothie

Try an apple in your morning or afternoon smoothie instead of a boring old banana. Apples make an excellent base for any smoothie, whether you are after a sweet or tart flavor. If you really want something different, blend apple, shredded carrot, fresh ginger, and a handful of greens for an invigorating, energy-blasting, vitamin-infused morning beverage.

Baked Apple Chips

There is something satisfying about crunchy snacks, which is why apples are so perfect, but when your apple is no longer crunchy, you can put the crispness right back into it with apple chips. Old apples can be cored, sliced, and baked in a 225°F oven until apples are dried and edges curl up, 45 minutes to 1 hour. For even more flavor, sprinkle the apple slices with cinnamon before baking.

Roasted Apples and Veggies

Fall is the perfect time for roasted sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, and squash, and apples are an excellent accompaniment. For best results, use wedges of baking apples such as Jonathan, Empire, Braeburn, Cortland, or Granny Smith, and add the apple wedges to the baking dish about 15 to 20 minutes before you think the dish will be ready because they cook faster than most vegetables.

Apple Soup, Anyone?

Apples can help to make a rich and hearty soup base. You can add vegetables, chicken, and herbs. Vegetables that work well with apples in soups include celeriac, cabbage, parsnips, butternut squash, fennel, sweet potatoes, carrots, and leeks – just to mention a few. Depending on the recipe, you may want to use tart apples, such as Granny Smith or Pink Lady, or sweet-tart varieties, like Cameo, Empire, Braeburn, Mutsu, or Crispin.

Add Them to Salads

Now days apples are for more than Candy Bar Apple Salad; apples are being used in everything from a slaw to chicken salad. One delicious idea is adding apples, walnuts, and cranberries to a green salad. For best results, use apple varieties that are slow to brown when cut, such as Cortland, Ginger Gold, SnowSweet, Ambrosia, Masanova, Cameo, Envy, and Shizuka. In addition, lemon juice will slow the browning of any variety of apples.

Baked Apple Goodness

When you crave a sweet after-dinner dessert but don’t want to eat something high in sugar, pull out that wrinkly apple in the back of your fridge. They caramelize sweet in the oven, especially if you sprinkle them with cinnamon, vanilla, or a handful of raw nuts and raisins, so no added sugar is needed.

Replace Unhealthy Ingredients in Cake Recipes with Apple Sauce

Your favorite muffin or cake recipe can be much healthier if you replace up to half of the sugar and butter/oil the recipe calls for with homemade apple sauce. This trick doesn’t work with all recipes, but it’s definitely worth a try if you are looking for healthier ways to satisfy your sweet tooth with an old favorite.

Now you can stop throwing away those less-than-perfect apples in the bottom of your crisper and turn them into a superb meal, snack, or dessert, which will make getting your apple a day that much easier!

Written by Vicki Hayman, MS, University of Wyoming Extension Nutrition and Food Safety Educator

Sources:

• allrecipes.com
• nchfp.uga.edu
• healwithfood.org

Contact Our Expert!

Email: nfs@uwyo.edu

Extension Educator:
Vicki Hayman – (307) 746-3531

Issued in furtherance of extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Kelly Crane, Director, University of Wyoming Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming Extension, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071.

The University of Wyoming is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.