How to Store Apples
Among the thousands (yes, thousands) kinds of apples aroung the world, each has its own unique shade, texture, and flavor profile. From honeycrisps to granny smith to golden delicious and beyond, these edible rubies and emeralds offer heaps of delicious nutrients and fiber with every bite.
While it’s not hard to gobble an apple in one sitting, there are times when we need to know how to keep a cut apple fresh. For example, perhaps your kiddo has an affinity to eat only a quarter of an apple, or you portion one out to feed your pup each day, or you’re prepping a sliced apple snack for tomorrow’s lunch.
Not all of us are equipped with a root cellar or have the time to spritz every sliced apple with lemon juice.
We want to help ensure your apple doesn’t even notice it's been sliced, so we introduced them to the Abeego Test Kitchen. We wrapped one half in a Small Square Abeego and left one-half naked. Both were stored in the fridge.
With Abeego, apple storage is easy. Dig in!
WEEK ONE
After one week, we took a peek at the Abeego-wrapped apple and sliced off a thin layer to see how the flesh looked.
Still vibrant! So we wrapped it back up.
For three. More. Weeks.
WEEK FOUR
The apple on the left was wrapped in Abeego for four weeks, and the apple on the right was left naked for four weeks.
NAKED:
Yeesh, check out that squish factor! It’s shrivelled, noticeably smaller, and lost ~37% of its weight in moisture.
ABEEGO:
Still firm, plump, and lost less than 10% of its weight in moisture. Notice how the surface of the apple has started to brown and dry slightly? It’s creating a new seal to protect itself!
Now, let’s slice into it and see what’s underneath.
Voila! Bright, juicy, goodness! That’s right, after 28 days. Watch the entire 4-week process here.
How about them apples?
Long story short, the best way to store apples is with Abeego:
- Use a Small Square to wrap apple slices
- Make a bag with the Large Rectangle and fill with whole apples to give them an extra layer of protection.
- Try our best-selling Variety Wrap Set and make apple-saving a cinch.
OUR WHY
Apples are alive and need to breathe.
Their own skin (red, green, or tie-died with yellow) is protective, breathable, and opaque, keeping its insides juicy and crisp. Once sliced, the apple’s exposed flesh is no longer protected. Moisture rapidly escapes resulting in a shrivelled & squishy fruit.
Wrapped in an airtight & transparent material like plastic, the ethylene gas that apples (and all fresh foods) release as they ripen becomes trapped and suffocate the apple in a wet and slimy environment. Rapid spoilage ensues.
Putting Abeego against the sliced side of the apple is like slapping on an extra apple peel. Protective and breathable, Abeego offers the perfect environment to extend the life of these doctor-ridding fruits.
HOW WE ENJOYED 260 LBS OF APPLES
In the fall of 2019 amidst the peak of apple season, the Abeego team went apple picking and filled cardboard boxes with 262.2 pounds of apples from the prolific apple trees of our generous friends and Salt Spring Island Candles.
What to do with such bushels, you ask? In our eyes, there’s no such thing as one bad apple. We had no problem putting each one to use.
Here’s how we enjoyed our heaping boxes of Spartans and Red Delicious apples for an entire year:
WITH THE BEST APPLES (THE PLUMP AND FIRM):
- During the harvest and weeks afterward, we shined these juicy gems on our shirts and crunched into them daily. Our team of 16 each got to take home a bag to enjoy as they pleased.
WITH THE SOFT & DULL:
- Amanda made Oatbox’s Breakfast Cookie Recipe and brought them into Abeego HQ for all to enjoy.
- Toni made dehydrated apple chips for team meeting table snacks (you know, back when they weren’t virtual).
- Sarah pressed and distilled a handful and made Applejack
- Toni made an apple crumble recipe and apple pie filling mix which she served on top of oatmeal for weeks
- We whipped up our favorite apple parsley smoothies here at Abeego HQ, soft spots and all.
WITH THE ROTTON APPLES (BRUISED & WORMY)
- We took the saddest of the bunch to the Flying Fish Winery, who made their famous apple cider recipe, and we enjoyed these bevvies at team celebrations for over a year!
Who knew apples could be delicious in so many ways? We encourage you to widen your repertoire of apple varieties and explore the succulent nuances between each one.
Depending on the type of apple, home cooking will look different! Let’s take applesauce, for example. Love the sweetness? Try Fuji. Prefer a sharper taste? McIntosh are your tart apples.
It is with deep respect and gratitude that we create, build and operate our business in the communities of Southern Vancouver Island, which as a business we acknowledge is located within the ancestral and unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen) (Esquimalt and Songhees), Malahat, Pacheedaht, Scia'new, T’Sou-ke and W̱SÁNEĆ (Pauquachin, Tsartlip, Tsawout, Tseycum) peoples.
Leave a comment