Apples stores in barrels need a cool, dark place
When root cellars were the norm, apples were stored in barrels and kept in the root cellar throughout the fall and winter. The cool temperature and low air circulation helped the apples to ripen slowly, making it possible to bite into a sweet, crisp apple months after harvest. If you can get your hands on some, you can store apples in barrels provided they are kept cool and dark. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Select clean, dry barrels with lids, if possible. You may need to clean out the inside of the barrel and let it dry thoroughly for a full day in the sun before using it to store apples.
2. Choose tart apple varieties with thick skins. The best storage apples are those that take longer to mature. Sweeter, thin-skinned apples do not keep as well and are easily bruised.
3. Sort the apples. Only store apples without bruises, insect or disease damage, cracks, splits or other injuries. Injured or bruised apples release more ethylene gas, which causes the surrounding apples to ripen faster. This is the where the saying "One bad apple spoils the barrel" comes from.
4. Cut newspaper sheets into quarters. Stack the quartered sheets in a pile on a table. Only use newspaper with black and white print; colored ink contains toxins you don't want your apples absorbing.
5. Wrap each apple in a quarter-sheet of newspaper. Gently twist the corners of the paper so the wrapping stays put. Segregating the apples ensures that any damage occurring to one apple will not doom the others to rot.
6. Place the barrel somewhere cool and dark but warm enough to keep the apples from freezing. Ideal storage places include an unheated basement, an unheated pantry, a root cellar or an unheated attic. Temperature should hover at or just below 40 degrees F.
7. Place the apples in the barrel. Lay down one layer then another and another on top of that.
8. Place the lid on the barrel.
Tags: cool dark, store apples, apples ripen, Place barrel, root cellar