Apples are versatile. They come in a variety of types, each with its own distinct flavor and cooking characteristics, and they store well. While apples are always available at the grocery store, they are usually shipped many hundreds of miles under less-than-desirable storage conditions. They are a far cry from the fresh ones you get growing and storing your own apples or picking a few bushels at a local orchard.
Instructions
1. Pick only mature fall apples. Summer apples do not store as well.
2. Leave the stems on.
3. Inspect the apples before placing them in storage in the root cellar. Remove any bruised apples, and use them in recipes or can some applesauce.
4. Store apples in relatively shallow layers. Wooden apple crates are fine, but don't use a container that is much deeper than that.
5. Maintain a root cellar temperature of, ideally, 32 degrees Fahrenheit with relative humidity around 80 percent. You can store apples at higher temperatures, but you should increase the relative humidity to 90 percent. Also, higher temperatures will decrease the storage life of the apples. Kept in ideal conditions, apples should last until spring.
Tags: higher temperatures, relative humidity, store well
