Ate "Deer Apples" and didn't die!

[Gone Fishing]

During the fall, many places begin selling "Deer Apples" for $6-9 per 40-50 lbs.  We usually pick up a sack or two and proceed to consume them ourselves.  Quality is variable, but I rarely feel like I get a bad deal.  Any unfit for consumption get fed to the livestock.  Yesterday, we used the juicer to make 1.5 gallons of cider (takes a LOT of apples).  The cider tastes great, but I don't think the return on labor is there to justify doing it to save money when you can get it for $4-5/gal at the store.  Pies and fresh eating are where it is at! 

[MissStache]

I'm not familiar with the concept of "deer apples."  Are these gleaned fallen apples or something?  Or are they just the "uglies" that most people don't want to buy?

[Gone Fishing]

I'm not familiar with the concept of "deer apples."  Are these gleaned fallen apples or something?  Or are they just the "uglies" that most people don't want to buy?

It varies.  I bought two bags this weekend, one was probably windfalls off the ground as a good number were bruised, the others look nearly perfect but I think were not the proper size to meet a commercial buyers specs.

[Polish_Hammer]

My late grandmother kept a family of eleven stuffed with pies and tarts from deer apples for many years.

[Axecleaver]

Deer apples are the drop apples that may sit on the ground for a day or two, and are sometimes a bit green. They are usually bruised in one spot and sometimes rotten/moldy. But, 75% of the apple is perfectly usable. Just need to cut out the bruises and that will tell you if you have an apple that you should throw away (or give to the animals).  They're great for pies and applesauce.

I recently moved up to "seconds" which are the picked apples that are less than perfect, usually some kind of cosmetic blemish. Deer apples are about $8 per bushel (about 40#), seconds are $12 a bushel and the perfect apples are $20-24 a bushel.

They are called deer apples because some folks put a big pile of apples in the woods to bait deer. It is illegal to do this in NY, although some folks will put a pile out before deer season, then remove it a couple of days before opening day.

[MissStache]

Sounds like a deal!  Applesauce would be first on my list, too, or maybe apple butter...yum!

[onehair]

My poor demented mind was concerned that deer apples were a relative of "horseapples."  thank goodness they're just apples that have dropped to the ground....

[Adventine]

^I thought the exact same thing when reading the thread title!

[Thegoblinchief]

Not sure the extra flaws are worth it compared to slighter higher quality apples. Yes, they're cheaper, but I can process better quality apples much faster. Right now for preserving, my time is limited more than my budget, but YMMV.

Even prime #1 grade apples bought or picked by the bushel at the orchard are still ridiculously cheap. But I'll still do seconds if the price is right and I'm allowed to check em over a bit.

[TheInsuranceMan]

We've got 5 apple trees that we pick from each year.  Last year we put up something like 40 apple pies, and also make our own apple butter.  Those pies go like hot cakes at fundraiser bake sales in our local communities!  Picking them can be a pain, either using an apple picker or sitting in the loader bucket of a tractor, but the end result sure looks delicious.  I say looks because I don't eat apple pie or apple butter - not a cooked apple fan...at all.