Apples, Apples and more Apples. Apples are fruit that are always in season win-ter, spring, summer and even Fall. Fall is here and a time of year when apples can be used in a variety of ways, from winter decorations to delicious recipes for holi-days such as Halloween & Thanksgiving.

The apple crop is harvested in the fall, when the apples are fully grown and rip-ened. The University of Illinois states, that across America both young and old state that apples are one of their favorite fruits.

According to the USDA Economic Re-search Service “Americans eat more ap-ples per capita than any other fruit (fresh and processed combined). In 2012-13, Americans ate an average of 15.9 pounds of fresh apples, and 28.4 pounds of pro-cessed apples (juice, cider, sauce, etc.), for a combined total of 44.3 pounds.”

Therefore, incorporate more apples into your diet, and learn more about the dif-ferent apple varieties. Apple varieties have specific uses, such as baking, and making deserts during the holiday sea-son.

Apples, Apples & More Apples!

How to Select & How to Store Apples

When selecting fresh apples picking the right one is an important. Mrs. Beverly Combs, Extension Educator with the Uni-versity of Illinois offers the following sug-gestions for selecting and storing apples.

When buying:

Look for smooth skin with few bruises. Too many bruises mean the apple may rot

Choose apples with a bright and spark-ly color.

Important Dates to Remember:

November 8 - 11 TAFCE State Conference - Riverview Inn, Clarksville, TN

“Host of Christmas Past”-November 13 - 15

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-Emily Bronte

When storing:

Apples keep best when refrigerated. Store them in a plastic bag or the drawer to keep them fresh.

Check them often. Remove any decayed apples. One rotten apple can indeed spoil the whole barrel!

Raw, cut apples may darken. Prevent this by dipping them in fruit juice-lemon, or-ange, grapefruit, or pineapple-before add-ing other ingredients.

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Ingredients:

3 pounds pork loin

1 apple, sliced

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 yellow onion, sliced

Mashed potatoes

Apples provide more benefits other than eating. Apples pro-vide health benefits they are good for improving neurologi-cal health. According to Medical News Today, an apple contains as antioxidant called “quercetin” which reduces cel-lular death caused by oxidation and inflammation of neurons. Researchers at Cornell Univer-sity conducted a study, pub-lished in the Journal of Food Science, which found evidence to suggest that apples may help "protect neuron cells against oxidative stress-induced neuro-toxicity", which could reduce the risk of developing neuro-degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

Have you ever thought to use your unused orange peels, apple peels for your own self made potpourri. Us-ing a simmer pot mix to make the holiday season even cozier with soothing scents. Simmer pots are innovative way to make your own potpourri during the holiday sea-son.

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Apple Cinnamon Slow Cooker Pork Loin-Fall Recipe

Health Benefits of Eating Apples!

Fall Potpourri

1. Slice slits into pork loin horizon-tally about 3/4 through meat.

2. Fill each slit with an apple slice and drizzle honey over top. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

3. Transfer pork loin to slow cooker. Layer onions over top.

4. Cook on low for 3-4 hours. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Does the color of the apple pro-vide health benefits? Mrs. Janis Hunter Nutrition Specialist with the Clemson University states, eat the most colorful fruits be-cause generally color is a clue that they are good antioxidant sources. She also recommends to choose red, orange, deep-yellow, purple and some dark-green leafy vegetables every day.

Clemson University color groups of foods may help the body in the following ways:

Blue/purple: lower risk of some cancers; urinary tract health; memory function; and healthy aging.

Green: lower risk of some can-cers; vision health; and strong bones and teeth.

Yellow/orange: lower risk of some cancers; a healthy heart; vision health; and a healthy im-mune system.

Red: lower risk of some can-cers; a healthy heart; memory health; and urinary tract health.

What you will need:

- the peel of one orange - one cut up apple - 2 large cinnamon sticks - 1 tablespoon of cloves - 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract - 1 tablespoon of almond extract - 1.5 cups of water plus plenty more for refill

V OLU ME 1, ISS UE 1

Is an excellent source of fiber – helps reduce cholesterol and may help prevent certain types of cancer.

Has only 80 calories.

Contains no cholesterol.

Contains no artificial colors or flavors.

According to Apples: A Class Act, a medium-sized apple (5.5 ounces or 154 grams, the size of a tennis ball):

Contains no fat, and contains no saturated fat – helps reduce risk of cancer.

Contains no sodium – helps reduce risk of high blood pres-sure.

Dr. Hoyle Food Safety Specialist with Clemson University offers ways to preserving apples by freezing them.

Preparation: Syrup pack is pre-ferred for apples to be used in uncooked desserts or fruit cock-tail. A sugar or dry pack is good for pie making.

Syrup Pack: Use heavy (40 percent) cold syrup To prevent browning, add ½ teaspoon ascorbic acid to each quart of syrup. Slice apples directly into syrup in container starting with ½ cup syrup to a pint container. Press fruit down in containers and add enough syrup to cover.

Sugar Pack: To prevent dark-ening, dissolve ½ teaspoon ascorbic acid in 3 tablespoons water. Sprinkle over the fruit. Or, apple slices can be steam blanched for 1½ to 2 minutes. Mix ½ cup sugar with 1 quart (1¼ pounds) of fruit. Pack ap-ples into containers and press fruit down. Seal and freeze.

Dry Pack: Follow the direc-tions for sugar pack, omitting the sugar. Treated apple slices can also be frozen first on a tray and then packed into containers as soon as they are frozen.

Core the apples and chop them. Place in slow cooker. Add cinna-mon, water and both sugars. Gently stir. Close the lid and let this cook away for about 4½ hours on low.

Check it periodically to make sure it is still moist and the apples are not dried out. Add more water as needed. Remove from Crock Pot after 4½ hours and place in a food processor or blender.

Add a squeeze of lemon juice if you like. Puree until smooth.

If the apple butter looks more like applesauce and doesn't have the rich brown color, just place back in the crock pot and cook for often.

Ingredients:

6 apples of your choice 1 tablespoon of cinnamon Squeeze of lemon juice 1/4 cup of water 1/4 cup of sugar 1/4 cup of brown sugar Prep time: 10 min Cook time:5min

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Core Facts-About Apples & Nutrition

Freezing Apples!

Give me some of that Apple Butter!

About 2,500

known varieties of apples are

grown in the U.S. More than

7,500 are grown worldwide.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

APPLE VARIETY WORD FIND

APPLE CANDLEHOLDERS

These candleholders have a light apple and rosemary scent, and look good on buffet tables, dinner tables or as accents in holiday decora-tions from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. Carefully select perfect, shiny Red Delicious apples. Make sure each apple sits flat and straight and look for uniform size and shape. Supplies needed:

What you’ll need: Red apples, Candles, Lamb‘s ear leaves, Rosemary (or your choice of herbs), and an Apple Corer

What you do: Polish the apples with a soft cloth. Use an apple corer to remove the stem end of the apple to a depth of about ½ inch. Place two lamb‘s ear leaves and a small sprig of rosemary in the ap-ple. Anchor the herbs with a short candle. A candle of 4-6 inches works very well. With your fingers, gently curl the lamb‘s ear over the apple.

A Little Christmas Spirit

HAVE A HAPPY HOLIDAY & SEE YOU IN THE NEW YEAR!

APPLE CANDLEHOLDERS

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Ethel Bonner UT Extension Agent

Family & Consumer Sciences

Lincoln County 208 Davidson Street East Suite 117

Fayetteville, TN 37334-3502 Phone: (931) 433-1582 | Fax: (931) 433-9302

E-mail: ebonner1@utk.edu