I learned at a young age the value of the wisdom which can only be gleaned by those who have lived a lifetime before us. My parents taught me to listen and they drove the lessons of my grandparents home through repetition and life application. These are things I was fortunate enough to be taught by example and I’ll just bet you have already been taught them, too. Still, it never hurts to have a few of them written out plainly all in one place.
So today, as I bring you an easy method to freeze apples which my mother learned from her step mother, I’m also bringing you a little bit of wisdom directly from the folks who came before us with hopes that you’ll be kind enough to share some of your life’s lessons at the end of this post as well. ~clears her throat and steps up to the black board~
First off, a help with perspective:
Troubles are temporary. So is life.
Decide which one you want to focus on.
This is an extension of “This too, shall pass”, which is a blessing and a curse. Most folks think of it in terms of hard times: hang on, this too shall pass, but it also works for good times and moments of joy.
Holding your newborn babe? This too, shall pass.
Spending an afternoon with your mother? This too shall pass.
Live in the moment, Focus on what is important. Don’t let that time with your mother pass with you living in the hardships instead of the joy. That’s not to say don’t worry about paying your bills but don’t spend all of your time in the presence of your loved ones seeing only your bills instead of their faces before you.
If you can’t say something nice…
This is a big one that most folks learn around preschool, but it seems in our modern era that a great many have either forgotten it or decided to ignore it. In the age of the internet where people get all trumped on a power trip of anonymity, it is even worse. Before we are quick to think ill of another, and most especially before we are quick to speak ill of another, we need to put ourselves in their shoes and realize that they are a person just like us. It never hurts to think of how our words will affect their family either. Remember, the trues test of character is who we are when no one is looking.
Just because someone has money doesn’t mean they’re better than you. Just because someone doesn’t have money, doesn’t mean you’re better than them.
Good people come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Don’t let the friend of your heart pass you by because you can’t see past one of these obstacles.
Wisdom doesn’t come automatically with age.
This is a very important one to me that I am always striving for. When I was a girl, I thought everyone older than me was automatically wiser than me. That rug gets pulled out from under your feet pretty quick! I’ve found that the folks who seem to have the most wisdom and understanding are those who have valued and sought it throughout their lives, using each situation to try to become a better person or to have a better understanding of others.
More often than not, doing the right thing won’t be easy and no one will even know you did it.
Your reward for being a good person is being a good person. Be glad you can sleep at night and get over it. You may not have a parade thrown in your honor but personal pride counts for something. Hold your head high and know your Mama would be proud of the person you have become. Honor, Integrity, and your good name cannot be bought or sold. They must work for and careful cultivated through a lifetime.
At the end of the day, there is always something to be grateful for.
To me, no one was a better teacher of this than my great grandmother, Lela. Most folks who consider themselves to have hard lives by today’s standards would change their thinking pretty quick were they to live just half a day in Lela’s shoes during her younger years. A sharecropper with four children to feed and take care of and a husband whose primary talent was taking what little money they acquired and spending it for his own entertainment purposes. She and her children worked from sun up til sun down, sometimes going to bed hungry because there simply wasn’t any food. They’d come in from a long days work in the fields and the kids would fall asleep wherever they sat first. Lela would walk around with a bowl of water and an old rag and wash the dirt off their feet.
But you know what? Lela always felt she had a lot to be grateful for. All four of her children were healthy. They had a roof over their heads, and though it was meager, they had food. Lela was wise enough to see these things as blessings rather than focus on their predicament as a curse. As a result of her attitude, we are now on our fifth generation of positive thinkers in this family and every single one of them have been happier and more fulfilled by growing up learning from her teachings of gratitude.
This is where you come in. What life’s lessons have you been taught by your elders that have guided you to be the person you are today? I’d love to hear them and a little about the person who loved you enough to teach them to you. I’m always talking about my grandparents, now it’s your turn!
Eventually, I get around to the tutorial so here are the apples we’re gonna freeze today.
This method works for any type of apples. Today I am freezing Jonagold and Fuji. If you’re going to be freezing them for a pie later, you might want to cut up a few granny smith and include some in each bag.
You’ll need about a gallon of water. First though, pour about a cup of that warm into a large bowl. Add about 1/4 of a cup of salt.
Stir until salt is dissolved.
Add the remaining water. This water should be cold.
Now we’re gonna peel our apples and slice them up one at a time.
Cut them however you prefer.
I usually do sections.
Be sure and remove the core.
There we go!
As you cut them, place all of the slices in the salt water.
I left the skins on some of mine because I prefer my fried apples to have the skin on.
Push them down in the water a bit and make sure they all get submerged good at some point.
After they have soaked for a few minutes, drain them in a colander.
Then place in freezer bags and label.
Laying them out flat like this when you freeze them will keep them from sticking together and allow them to thaw quicker.
Here is a bag of apples a few days later, frozen and still beautiful thanks to the wisdom from the “old folks”!
You can take these apples directly from frozen and use them fried, in muffins, cakes, or pies!
No, they won’t have a salty taste!:)
Freezing Apples Ingredients- Apples
- 1 Gallon water
- ¼ C Salt
- Freezer Bags
Instructions- Place one cup warm water in a large bowl. Stir in salt until dissolved. Add remaining water cold. Peel and slice apples (can leave skin on them if desired). Place each slice in salt water as you go along. When done with all apples, stir water a bit to make sure all have been submerged. Drain in a colander. Place immediately in freezer bags, label, and freeze.
- Apples
- 1 Gallon water
- ¼ C Salt
- Freezer Bags
- Place one cup warm water in a large bowl. Stir in salt until dissolved. Add remaining water cold. Peel and slice apples (can leave skin on them if desired). Place each slice in salt water as you go along. When done with all apples, stir water a bit to make sure all have been submerged. Drain in a colander. Place immediately in freezer bags, label, and freeze.
Some of my favorite Southern Plate apple recipes:
- Apple Dapple Cake
- Apple Skillet Cake
- Fried Apples
- Crock Pot Apple Butter
- Apple Flautas
- Apple Orchard Snack Cake
Live in the North Alabama area and looking for apples? Try Isom’s orchard in Athens, that is where these beauties came from!
“The wisest mind has something yet to learn.”
~George Santayana. To submit your quote, click here.
Please share a life lesson you were taught by your parents, grandparents, or just someone who came before you below. If you like, feel free to just use the space to brag on the good folks who raised you!
Yum 
Christy, I find myself now the “matriarch ” figure about to have my first grandchild . It has been difficult losing the stability of parents, grandparents, many aunts and uncles as well as first cousins who had been very important in my life. I was the youngest of 69 grandchildren if you can believe! So much of what you say rings a bell in my early consciousness of my grandmothers kitchen. So much I learned from parents who were born before 1919 is so new to the generation of my own children due to so many changes in life. Yet I am glad to now be able to share tidbits of my knowledge and “old fashioned skills ” if I can. I now am able to begin a small garden, plan canning of fresh tomato sauce, learn new techniques of cooking with newer appliances and help my children with anything I can. I also find that beside cooking, sewing is a disappearing art! I am planning my first grandchilds quilt as my mother would have done. This is as my grandmother would have done and her mother before her. Traditions such as this bind family together. I am grateful to have found your great recipe and traditions as well. Thanks!
What a blessing. As I refresh my freezing process information for apples, this was the first I looked at. Your words so thoughtful and true. Your method wonderful. A life lesson I wish to pass on is one my grandfather told me as a teen. “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face!” He told this to me when I was upset with my dad. It took me years to really comprehend the connection to my actions. I heeded the lessons handed down to me, as well as many great family recipes. Thank you!
Going to try the freezing of the apples today. I have a case full of Gravenstein apples yum. Wish me luck
Good Luck Jill!! I know you will do just fine though! Where are Gravenstein apples from? I a man not sure if I have ever had one of that variety.
Gravenstiens are a delicious sweet/tart apple that are available in August…and they make the best pies! Here in SE Massachusetts, we get them at the Big Apple in Wrentham. The season for them is short, so you have to get them early! They freeze well for pies all winter. We are actually preparing ours for the freezer today.
Nothing to do with cookery, but one thing my Grandma told that I’ve never forgotten is….
There’s only one perfect baby in the world, and every mother has it.
What a wise woman!!!
Just picked all my cooking apples off the tree today and wasn’t sure how to freeze so many, your article was a just what I needed and such a quick method…thank you so much!
You are very welcome!!
hello.. i found Gravenstein in northern California, they are delicious to make applesauce and juice…
Here we suffer grief and pain – over the road they do the same – Nanny Nellie Oxborrow 1892-1979
There’s no pain like your own pain – Nanny Rosa Jenkins 1880-1970
And thank you for the apple freezing method!
Hi from UK- I have just stood for 2 hours peeling and preparing my apples- had never heard of adding salt but I must say that my apples still look as if I had just prepared them- thank you for the tip
You are so welcome!!
Hello from Ireland . I used to blanch apples before freezing, very time consuming. Your method is brilliant, thank you.
One day, while listening to a group of people discuss a difficult problem together, I heard blame and I heard appreciation. I noticed that when blame was assigned, the blamed person seemed to wither before my eyes.
After a few more minutes, I heard appreciation expressed, and I saw a surprised smile and a little chuckle escape the person complimented.
From this I learned that in life people sometimes criticize too easily and too often.
Sometimes I meet someone who is obsessed with finding and labeling blame.
They are typically unhappy.
I think we do not listen for or give credit often enough where credit is due, when it is due.
So I try to practice that whenever I see/hear of something credit worthy.
It makes me a happier person, and it often blesses the listeners too.
So true!! I think we should all strive to be better encouragers!!
From northumberland england thankyou so much for the quick tips so easy liz
Do you have to dry them before freezing?
I dried about 4 “loads” in my dehydrator which took about 3 days for each batch!! Then I packed them into zip lock bags and put in the freezer. I wish I had known this first!!! I will do the rest THIS way!! Thanks SO much for this, Christy!!!!
As for learning from our elders, I remember eating few meals at my grandmother’s table. Her daughter, my Aunt Emma, took me under her wing and taught me SO much!! At age 6 she showed me how to crochet. When I was 15 I made my daddy and afgan. (He had that thing on the back of his chair until he died at age 79!! He was 29 years older than me. Figure that one out!!) Aunt Emma also taught me how to sew! Came in very handy when I was a teen because there was no such thing as finding clothes to fit me!! She also taught me to freeze and can my own stuff for good food later!! ~~~~~~~~ My daddy taught me that “you learn something new every day if you just pay attention!!”
I thank you for a place I can visit with my “new” family and learn from each of you something I can take with me and use again!!! God bless you all!!
hi; I am from Chile and live in Washington DC< today I got tons of apples from a friend from Vermont…..so I will try your recipe for freezing them…and later and apple pie.Hopefully it will be as good as the ones from my late mother in law…from MA. Small world..
Great recipe I am excited to try! Quick question: how long will they keep in the freezer?
Christy, I was so moved by your blog at the beginning. I was blessed to have had a Mom, who cook, canned, and her and Dad grew their own veggies. Dad worked a full time job and also had a really big garden. Me and my 3 sisters used to laugh and say Mom would never even leave an apple on the ground if she could use it in something. We might not have had money, however we never went without food. Our money was love for each other, and we had plenty of that. You brought back many memories of my wonderful childhood. One I try to pass on to my children. Thank you so very much.
My Irish grandmother Clare Mitchell, who was 5’2″ was always good for those sayings that are keepers. The foremost among them is “In a hundred years on a galloping horse who will know the difference?” meaning don’t get bent out of shape over the small stuff!
(She was also know for her forthright attitude: “If they don’t like what I say, there are 3 other directions to look in!” or “I may be small but I can still kick ’em in the shin!” She was full of piss and vinegar on the outside but the most loving person with the biggest heart on the inside.)
I can imagine her now!! I bet she was well loved by everyone!!
There is so much good in the worst of us,
And so much bad in the best of us,’
That it behooves none of us,
To talk about the rest of us!
Don’t say anything about a person behind their back that you wouldn’t say to their face.
This poem, and line from my Grandpa, were often quoted to me by my mother.
I will surely use this, very wise words
My Granny Smiths oxidise instantly the air get to them. Before even finished peeling them. So they are all brown and look awful.
Any ideas to stop this?
Mom (1915) & dad (1906), were married in 1932, and they had 12 kids. A French Canadian family from Northern Ontario. My oldest brother was 25 years older than me, and my oldest sister is 24 years older. We are a large family (11 siblings are left), but we were loved, by mom, dad, & each other.
We never went hungry, granted there might not have been much, but we all knew it came from toiling in the sun, working hard on the farm, and it was made with loving hands. We all had our jobs to do, however large or small.
We had a roof over our head, & even though it did sometimes leak, we were grateful for the pots, pans, & buckets we did have.
When we moved to the city from the farm (45 miles away), I was 5. We were now closer to my dad’s work. We had a 2 bedroom house, & a basement, where 3 rooms were made for the boys.
We now had indoor plumbing, but we still needed to be careful of the water.
My mom now had a electric stove instead of her usual woodstove. As great as that was, my mom had no clue how to really cook with it. She did figure out how to bake bread, pies & so on, but not overnight beans . . . y-e-t!
One night, Mom decided that she was going to attempt baking beans, so that it would be ready for the next morning. Hence, the oven went on slow & low all night. Alas’, the firemen were called during the night to come over to our house, because there was an awful lot of smoke. Before my brothers & I were taken to the neighbours, I saw my mom pulling out the beans from the ‘heaven’ (as she called it, in her attempt to say ‘oven’ in English!) . . . She started feeding the masses . . . the baked beans (they were fine – she had to learn that 3 hours or so was enough), firemen, & whomever else was there, with her homemade bread in tow. I’m sure she would pull something out for desert too, if she had it. She didn’t let anyone go hungry. She appreciated the gesture that they came to help, & she in turn would help them in the way that she knew how.
We’ve learned, my siblings & I, that a small piece of meat can feed many people by adding this & that to the pot.
There was ‘never’ I don’t like that ‘food’ at the table! We were lucky to have what we had, & we ate it happily.
There was never . . . I’m bored. Depending on who heard you, they found something for you to do.
There weren’t any cans or boxes of food when I was growing up. I once went to a friend ‘s for lunch & her mom served us chicken noodle soup from a box. My comments were “where’s the chicken & vegetables?” Well, of course my mom heard about what I had said, & I had to go say I was sorry for not appreciating the food I was given. Before I left to go, my mom explained to me, that sometimes some people could not afford to put chicken and vegetables in their soup. Years later, I found the ‘chicken noodle soup’ in the box, in a grocery store – its made like that on purpose!
My brother, a year older than me, used to cut grass & he shoveled driveways of snow – for .25 cents a yard. He saved all that he made. I used to work at a corner store for .25 cents a day.
Instead of taking the city bus to school, my brother & I would walk 1 mile to school & 1 mile back, it saved us .40 cents. On really ‘cold’ days, mom would give us the money to take the bus.
Halloween on the farm used to be ‘dress in old coveralls’ & go to the 1 neighbouring farm accross the road, to see if they could guess who you were that year. Our friends always pretended not to know us.
In the city, kids kept coming & coming to our door, & they didn’t stop, so what my brother & I had collected in pillow cases, earlier they were now being handed out by my mom. Mom kept the apples though, she could make something with them.
I remember mom saying “that it’s important to find something nice to say about everybody” she would go on to stress that if you couldn’t find something, “start digging”. She was serious!
I was reminded of mom when I worked in a coffee shop for many years. One lady, a customer always had a long face every morning, until she came in wearing a yellow top. Her face was lit up because of the colour. I took the time to tell her that her yellow top was so pretty on her. She beamed with that comment, and oh my goodness, what a smile she had. It didn’t take long for me to say something, but it made a difference to a complete stranger. After that I complemented others, & it just became easier.
My sibings & I miss mom, dad, & our older brother a lot. The older siblings in the family remember things that the younger ones don’t know, & vice versa, & so we share our memories together!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Thank you for sharing.
My husband has a stand at farmers market. I have learned to freeze produce that doesn’t sell and love having it to use in the winter. Im anxious to try freezing apples for pies and cakes. Thank you for the help.
My dad was a bricklayer and between jobs money could be very tight. My mother made all of our clothes and if we complained about how something fit or looked, she would dismiss us with tne statement, “so what, it will never be noticed from the highway”.
What a blessing to have those vegetables in the winter!! You are going to love having the apples and it really is easy!!
I came across your method on Pinterest while trying to find a lunch solution for my little one who refuses to eat Apples with the skins. How long do the apples usually take to thaw? I’m
Wondering if they will thaw by lunch time in his box.
Hey AshLee!
You made my heart smile remembering when my kids were little and I used to pack their lunches. My oldest moves off to college next weekend. I would think if you took them straight from the freezer they would be thawed easily by lunchtime. I’m not sure what the texture would be like for snacking as I usually cook with these but I’d love to try it myself and will try to do so soon thanks to your inspiration!
My great grandma and grandma on my mom’s side taught me a lot about life and cooking/baking. I was 10 before GG got rid of her old wood cook stove that she taught me on. Always loved baking with it because everything turned out so wonderful! We made Lefse on the big flat top for holidays and would make huge pots of stews and soups plus she had a huge garden and taught me how to can and butcher. She had so much from doing these things she was always dropping things off with friends and neighbors because she never wanted anyone to go hungry! Sharing with others yoyr gifts/skills is important. Helping others brings you more than always taking. My Gma was her only living daughter as her youngest died when she was 9mo old and my Gma remembered how people always were there to help through the grief at the time. So i went with my Gma often to take meals or treats to families during that time and just sit and listen. Nobody knows what to say when there is a loss but you can just be there to listen. She also taught me to bake cakes and decorate them which i always loved watching her create so at 5yrs old she had me making buttercream roses right along side of her! I still do cakes often for people and I now have a large garden with a lot of fruit trees/bushes and I can and freeze and share what i do. My husbands grandparents were the same so when butchering comes around we help and making sausage we help and it gets distributed to family and friends!
Both my GG and Gma always said you can have a lot of money and status but it means nothing without friends and family and you make more friends and keep family together through food and they were correct! Now I have to get back to freezing apples and making applebutter! I have used salt before but now more often then not I use lemon juice instead.
Oh wow Jody, what a wonderful heritage you were blessed with!!! I love that you learned to cook on an old wood cook stove. I have always dreamed of having one someday 🙂
I was searching about freezing apples since our lone apple tree is overloaded this year and I am busy with work so I don’t have a lot of time for working with them. I usually skim past the blog parts of recipes that I find online. This one, however, caught my interest!
Perhaps I read it because my grandmother raised me and I have always been partial to older people(of course, I am in the process of joining them!) I really appreciated the bits of wisdom and think they are important to share. I love your story about Lela. My grandmother lived a similar life. She married at 14, thinking she was gaining freedom from an overbearing father. Instead, she had married an alcoholic who would come home, having spent his paycheck on booze, and promptly try to beat his family. My “gram” would often send the kids out to hide in the ditch nearby while she stayed inside to distract him from the children.
My gram showed me generosity, putting others first, and the strength to endure hardships. She prayed often, made sure I knew Christ, and was/is my hero.
Thank you for sharing about Lela. It brought back treasured memories of my gram.
Thank you for sitting a spell with me and sharing memories of your Gram!! I hope you get all your apples put away and enjoy them in the coming months!!
U reassured me on how to do it with the salt after all I am dealing with organic amish Red Delicious
new tree apples that have sunspots from being by water pond. thank u
You are very welcome 🙂
Hi! I appreciate the tip on apple freezing. I also enjoyed all the comments. My life lesson was taught by my great grandmother, and she assured me that I can do ANYTHING if I want to do it. And If I am not afraid of a little bit of work
Enjoyed all the stories!
Never knew -or asked- how the Greataunts or Grandmothers preserved those apples for winter pies and applesauce! Might have been magic; probably your easy way, but using freezer containers….no zip lock bags in the old days!
“What others think of me…. is none of my business!”