Frozen apples work well for baking, making smoothies, and even healthy snacking. While we love to can our fruit, it can be nice to have a little variety in our kitchen. Besides freezing fruit tends to keep that fresh fruity flavor better. The first time I learned how to freeze apples I was worried about the apple slices browning. With our coating on the apples, browning has not been an issue even months later.
Frozen Apples
How to Prepare Apples for Freezing
The first step in freezing apples is to prepare 6 large apples by coring, peeling, and slicing them into 1/4-1/2 inch slices.
Combine 1 teaspoon of ascorbic acid and 1/2 cup of sugar. Add the sliced apples and coat gently.
coat apples with sugar and ascorbic acid
The acid keeps the apples from turning brown and the sugar draws the juice to the surface blocking any air from being trapped inside and reducing the chance of freezer burn.
Now that the apples are ready it is time to individually freeze them. This allows the apples to later be removed from the freezer individually instead of in one large ice block.
How to Freeze Apples
place in single layer on baking sheet
Freezing apples is done by placing the apples on a baking sheet and placing it into the freezer to freeze for 2 to 4 hours. I sometimes like to line my baking sheet with a silicone baking mat. The silicone mat makes it easy to remove the peaches from the baking sheets.
place in freezer bag
After the apples have been individually frozen remove them from the baking sheet. Place the frozen apple slices in long-term storage freezer bags that have been labeled with the contents and freezing date.
I remove as much air as possible. Then I lay the bag flat in the freezer so it will stack better.
Frozen Apples
Note: It is easiest to label the storage bags before putting the apples in the bag.
