My apple prep production crew is hard at work as you can see.
I got up, fixed breakfast for my work crew & set up my production line. Doesn’t that sound official? Jim & Sarah were both quick to volunteer to help with the apples. Sarah is an old hand at it after all these years. Jim, on the other hand, didn’t have a clue what he was getting himself into. It’s a family thing here at the Spears house. When we were halfway through, he did have a very good idea, but he assured me it would be worth it when he got the first piece of pie.
Sarah set up for the first apple peeler, corer,slicer & got Jim to do the adjusting on it. Then she set up the other one just a few feet down the counter from Jim. They set up a 5-gallon bucket underneath to catch the peelings & throw the cores. While they worked on getting set up, I mixed up the topping for the first pies. We have 12 pie crusts. The plan is to fill all of them & freeze them today. Twelve crusts are going to become 12 crumb topped apple pies!
Having gotten the first batch of topping ready, I filled up 2 large bowls with water & fruit fresh. I wash the
2 tv trays 4 pies
apples & my crew gets started on the apples. I go into the next room & pull out 2 tv trays. Set the trays up & place 2 crusts on each tray. We are underway!
By then, Jim & Sarah have almost filled a bowl with apples. I give them the other bowl of water & fruit fresh to place the peeled apples in & take the other bowl to the opposite counter. A colander is set up in the sink. I pull a stack of apples out & cut the slices in half & place them in the colander to drain. Everytime it’s full, I start measuring apples. The recipe I’m using takes 7 cups of apple slices. Sarah teases me that I’ll be counting to seven in my sleep after today’s work.
When I have the right amount of apples, I add the sugar & cinnamon & stir the mixture up until the apples are coated. I have separated a couple of eggs & lightly beat the whites. Using a pastry brush, I brush the bottoms of the pie crusts with the egg white; this will keep the bottom crust from becoming soggy. Divide the apples up in two pie crusts. They fill 1 crust completely & 1 crust partially. Again I slice, drain & mix apples. I soon get figured out that 3 recipes fill 4 crusts nicely. Dot some butter on the apple slices & the pies are ready for the topping.
I have made this pie for 3-4 years now & have learned they will slide in the freezer bags more efficiently, without losing their toppings, if I freeze the pies first. There’s only room in the freezer compartment for 2 pies so I take the other 2 pies to the freezer in the basement. Along the way, I slip enough apple slices into the other room to fill the dehydrator. This process gets repeated twice until we have all 12 pie crusts filled & topped.
This is what the pie crust looks like piled with the apple mixture.
Apple pie with the crumb topping will go into the freezer next, then a freezer bag & back in the freezer until somebody wants an apple pie.
Along the way, one of the peelers stopped working properly so that slowed us down some. Except for some smoke breaks for Jim & a lunch break for us, that’s how we spent a good part of the day. By about 4 o’clock, I was sliding pie 12 into the oven for our supper. The rest of the pies were in the oven. We were all pleased & proud of ourselves for having accomplished the goal for the day. Only a bushel and a half of apples remain. Applesauce will be on the agenda next.
Tags: apple crumb topped pie, apple peeler, apple pie, apple pies, apples, blog, family, food, Jim, Sarah, Spears