Re: Storage of apples

Beverly Erlebacher <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
> Alan Illeman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >
> >What about late apples ?, they are ready now (I'm in Toronto). Obviously
> >they shouldn't freeze but do you have any tips for keeping them thru
> >the winter ?
>
> I'm in Toronto too, and no, most of the late apples aren't ready yet.
>
> Cool and humid is best.  AFAIK, as close to freezing as you can get without
> getting quite that cold.  Traditionally this was accomplished in an earth-
> floored unheated cellar.  Keep apples away from root crops or they will pick
> up the earthy flavors.  Don't put them in sealed plastic bags, they need
> some ventilation.  Don't try to store bruised or blemished fruit.  It will
> rot.  Pick over the apples every few weeks to remove any that are going bad
> before one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel...
>
> You can find books in the library on long-term storage of produce.  Some
> varieties of apples store exceptionally well, Idared, for one is best after
> New Year's.  IIRC, Russets and Spy are traditional varieties that store
> well, but without high-tech controlled atmosphere storage, you're going
> to have wrinkled apples by spring, just as everybody used to.  They're
> still good, just not crisp and not as flavorful.  So enjoy them while
> they're in good shape.
>
> Btw, I was once in an old abandoned orchard in eastern Ontario and spotted
> some apples lying around in May that looked as good as they had the previous
> fall.  They were lying on the dirt a groundhog (marmot) had dug out of his
> burrow.  While it's cool and humid in a groundhog burrow under a meter of
> snow in winter, I wonder if the CO2 from groundhog breath helped preserve
> the apples.
>

Thanks. We were out picking Russets (I think) on Saturday, just east of Grafton.
It's amazing how large they are compared to what you see in the stores. Do you
know what the 'high-tech controlled atmosphere', temp, humidity, etc is ?, sounds
like a project for this retired electronics engineer, who btw spent several years in
atmospheric physics reasearch <g>.

Alan