How to Use Every Last Bit of That Apple

By Anna Monette Roberts

Updated on 1/21/2014 at 7:30 AM

All too often, apple skins and cores get tossed in the trash when making an apple pie or another treat. While composting scraps is the lesser of the waste evils, here's how you can incorporate every part of the apple with these recipe ideas.

  1. Skin: Sure, you can buy apple chips or dehydrated apple slices at the supermarket, but why not try dehydrating apples at home? After peeling the apples, coat the pieces with a light glaze of simple syrup and bake at a low temperature for a few hours, until crisp.
  2. Flesh: Make homemade apple sauce or toss paper thin apple slices in a Waldorf salad. For an all-American dessert, try Michelle Obama's apple cobbler. Its slow cooking time caramelizes the apples until they practically dissolve upon bite.
  3. Core: Use an apple corer to cleanly remove the seeds and fibrous center of each apple. Store them in an airtight baggie in the fridge until you have enough for a full recipe. Because apples are high in pectin, they gel easily, so there's no excuse not to make an apple jelly, which is an amazing accompaniment to Southern-style biscuits or baguette and butter.
  4. Whole apple: Use the whole apple in a green juice recipe or simply juice the apples for homemade apple juice that surpasses any store-bought bottles.

Photos: Anna Monette Roberts, Nicole Perry, Jaime Young