Anyone ever freeze apples to use later in the fall / winter?
 

I've been putting piles of apples (and pears) out for a few years and the deer just TEAR them up. I mean, I'll go from 10 pics a week to 80 pics once I put apples out. This year, I plugged in my old freezer in the garage and am filling with plastic grocery sacks of apples. This is my first time trying this.. anyone else ever do it?

For those of your that can't hunt over bait, forgive me!

Thanks, Jeff in Ohio

I have. Unfortunately they turned brown. Didn't freeze well.

Never done it but it sounds like a good idea.

No sense practicing something that will result in a fine in Indiana,

Tried it. They turn to mush when they thaw.

I can hunt over bait in Oklahoma but for some reason the deer on my place hate apples. I have tried everything from apple flavored corn to apple mineral licks and even real apples. They will tear up anything but so I dont know what is wrong with them. But then again it is very rare to see a wild apple tree around here.

Most whole fruit when frozen turns to mush when thawed. :nonono2:

I guess it'd be okay if they like mushy apples.

Grandson is trying to get a job at the Winn Dixie produce section so there might be plenty of cull apples available.......

try quick freezing them first in dry ice. I read once it works good on strawberries so i guess it might work on apples. the problem with freezing fruit it happens to slow and it damages the cell structure and breaks down the sugar that is why they get brown and mushy

In the old root cellar days they chose particular varieties of apples that would keep well in storage(heirloom varieties), and then usually packed them in crates filled with sawdust. The key to storing them was the high humidity and cool temperature of the root cellar, and keeping the ethylene gas from ripening the fruit and other perishables stored nearby.

A type of temporary root cellar called a "clamp" might be what you need. The fruit was simply laid out on the ground on a thick bed of straw, then pyramidal layers of fruit and straw were built up. A wick of straw ran up the middle throughout it's length if it was constructed as a long pile, or as a single "pipe" in a teepee clamp, and was exposed to the surface. Once the pile reached about 3-4' the clamp would be covered with a layer of clay several inches thick to keep the clamp cool and humidified, with only the wick exposed for gaseous exchange. Clamps have also been successfully constructed utilizing only a pile of straw covered by a tarp to repel rain, with a perforated PVC pipe running up the middle to the outside air, though great care must be taken to keep the pile dry or you'll end up with the best smelling compost pile in your neighborhood.