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Apples are flying out the door at stores and orchards and roadside stands. They are at their peak of flavor.
I was at another orchard this past week-end and “loaded up” on Jonathans, one of my favorite varieties for cooking purposes. I plan to make up extra apple pies to freeze and have ready for the holidays.
Pies can be frozen either baked or unbaked. Cool baked pies completed and wrap well in wax paper or plastic wrap and cover with aluminum foil or slip them into a gallon size resealable bag. For unbaked pies, which I prefer, prepare them for freezing in the same way. Label and date.
When ready to use, defrost unwrapped baked pie in the refrigerator. Then heat the pie in 350 degree F oven for about 30 minutes. For frozen unbaked pies, unwrap and place directly in 350 degrees F oven without defrosting and bake for about 50 minutes or until nicely browned and juice bubbles through the slits in pie top.
Some people like to assemble their fruit pie filling and freeze it without the crust. For this, they would place plastic wrap on the bottom of a pie pan, pulling out enough plastic wrap to go around the entire filling. Then they pour the fruit filling onto the plastic wrap, cover with the wrap, then aluminum foil, or place in resealable bag, and freeze. After this is frozen, they slip the filling out of the pan and, if there are several pan-fuls, they stack the frozen fillings one on top of the other in the freezer. The pie pan can then be used again and it doesn’t tie up the pie plates in the freezer. Each filling is taken out when needed. The crust is prepared and made ready for the filling. The pie is then baked same as the unbaked pie above.
I invite you to sign up for my newsletter coming out soon that will feature some special apple recipes and other tips I want to share with you.
I hope you are fortunate enough to have an apple orchard nearby to visit this week-end.
Happy eating!
Lee Jackson
author of From the Apple Orchard – Recipes for Apple Lovers
and Apples, Apples Everywhere – Favorite Recipes From American’s Orchards
