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My husband and I moved cross-country to The American Redoubt this past spring with our two young sons.  We had never even visited this area, but our research over two years caused us to fall in love with an area we had never seen in person.  My husband flew out on his own about a month before our move and found us a rental house on a couple acres within our budget.  He thought he saw fruit trees at the time and took pictures to show me, but we couldn’t tell for sure.

Our transition was very tiring and tedious, but we are adjusting nicely to our new home.  The bounty from our fruit trees and other foraged edibles has us very excited about our blessings.  Our cup overflows – with fruit – and we almost have too much!

As we investigated our yard and watched the trees bloom, we understood that, indeed, we had several fruit trees.  One I felt sure was an apple and another looked like a pear tree to me, but I wasn’t positive.  As the blossoms faded and fruit began to form, we knew we had at least three apple trees, but one was definitely different than the other two, as the blooms were pink and not white.  About mid-June I realized it must be a crabapple tree, so I began to research what I could do with this fruit. Growing up, we had a crabapple tree, but we considered it a nuisance with the fruit not fit to eat.

Lessons From a Crabapple Tree
I learned I could make many delicious goodies from crabapples, including jelly, sauce, and butter. I began picking them as soon as they seemed ripe enough. I actually didn’t pick them at all, though – I shook them from the tree and then gathered them (along with my helpful young brood) into buckets. I then proceeded to wash them and cut off both ends for jelly making. My jelly didn’t turn out so good and was more like a syrup, so I decided to use the rest for butter. I grew up on apple butter, which is a lot like applesauce, but  thicker and sweeter with spices added. It’s used just like jelly or jam and smells wonderful while cooking. From the many buckets of crabapples we gathered, I now have 16 pints of apple butter in my basement.
I didn’t waste the liquid from the cooked crabapples. This I canned also in quart and half-gallon jars and will use for hot spiced cider when cold, snowy days arrive. Though somewhat weak compared to regular apple juice, I plan to add frozen orange juice concentrate and spices to simmer all day in the crock pot.

My Crabapple Butter Recipe
Wash and cut off ends of crabapples. Place whole apples in large pan and just cover with water. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until apples are pretty soft (about 30 minutes or so). Scoop out crabapples into strainer, leaving liquid behind. Press through strainer. In crock pot, combine crabapple pulp and one to two tablespoons of spices (cinnamon, cloves, and/or nutmeg) to taste. Cook on high for 8 hours until mixture cooks down to about half, stirring once every hour. At this point, you may can or freeze the apple butter or simply refrigerate and eat up, depending on the amount you have.

Lessons From Two Apple Trees
One of our apple trees ripened right along behind the crabapple tree, and we harvested about 8 buckets full from this tree. These apples are a light green with thin skin and a wonderful refreshing flavor.  The problem is they don’t keep very long, even in the fridge, so we processed them quickly, eating as many as we could before they started to shrivel.  I made applesauce from these and also froze some sliced for pies later on. I have 10 quarts of applesauce canned and 6 quarts sliced in the freezer.

I also sliced some of the apples for drying. I don’t currently have a dehydrator, but in the hot summer months my car heats up nicely, and I found that sliced apples dried within several hours on a hot day in full sun.

My Applesauce Recipe
I simply made my applesauce by cutting the washed apples in half and cutting off the stem and blossom ends. Then I cooked them the same way I cooked the crabapples, just covering with water. I then pressed just the apples through the strainer, reserving the liquid for canning as well.  I then processed the apple pulp in hot jars in a water bath canner. I didn’t add sugar or spices to the sauce, preferring it more natural.

The other apple tree ripened later. These apples have thicker skin and are proving to be much better keepers. We will keep them in our cool basement as long as we can, eating them fresh.

* How Much Saved From Apple Tree Fruit – Apples are at least $1 per pound in season, but organic apples are even higher. I estimate that we ended up with at least 12 buckets of regular apples and about 4 buckets of crabapples. I estimate that each bucket weighed about 10 pounds.  This would make about 160 pounds of apples, which would cost at least $160 if purchased.

Lessons From a Pear Tree
The next tree to ripen was our pear tree.  We could see fairly early on after blooming that it was a pear tree, but I didn’t personally have high hopes for it.  Growing up, I had a pear tree in my yard, and it never did well, always having very small, scrubby pears that were never fit to eat.  My husband loves pears, however, so I wanted it to do well for his sake (and our boys).  They never seemed to get soft on the tree, but they were getting bigger and bigger, so I decided to do some research.  Turns out, pears are better picked hard, as they will have a better taste and be less grainy.  Also, certain varieties do better after being placed in the refrigerator for a few days. Seems that they have a better texture after chilling.  Well, it worked!  Our hard pears got soft, sweet, and smooth!  Best pears I’ve ever tasted! We harvested about 4 buckets full and are mostly eating them fresh. Some of them, however, are getting old and too soft, so I’ve also made pear sauce.  Plus, since pears are much more juicy than apples, I have had to take an extra straining step with them when making sauce, thus getting some wonderfully sweet pear juice out of the deal.

* How Much Saved – The pears weighed about 60 pounds and would cost at least $2 per pound in the store, so our savings was at least $120.

Lessons From a Plum Tree
The last of the fruit trees on our land to ripen was the plum tree, which my husband discovered while exploring a little further over from the other fruit trees. We didn’t know about this jewel early on and didn’t have high hopes once we discovered it, thinking it wouldn’t produce very valuable fruit. Needless to say, we have harvested 3 buckets full so far (about 36 pounds, we estimate) and have at least one more bucket full on the tree. These are the small Italian plums that sell for quite a bit in the grocery store. The first bucket we picked wasn’t sweet, but once frost hit our area, the ones on the tree turned very sweet and delicious.  I wasn’t planning to make jams or jellies due to what I believed to be a long, drawn-out process (and the fact that my crabapple jelly didn’t turn out), but I decided to try a very small batch of plum jam to see if it would be worth it.  Plums are pretty easy to deal with.  These have pits that are freestone, which means they don’t stick to the flesh of the fruit. This made it very easy to pit them. I simply washed them, cut them in half, and pulled the pit out. Many of these we are eating fresh, but I know we won’t be able to eat them all before they go bad, so I have chopped up 8 quarts for the freezer for breads and cakes later. I also have 2 gallons of plum wine fermenting in the cabinet. With the rest that we don’t eat fresh, I am making plum jam, as the trial run turned out wonderfully!

My Plum Jam Recipe
Wash whole plums. Cut in half and remove pit. Chop or leave in halves. I like to blend my plums in the blender, but for those who like chunks I advise chopping in small pieces and not blend.  Otherwise, leave halved and blend.) For every cup of chopped plums, I used 2/3 cups sugar. some other recipes call for more sugar (up to a 1:1 ratio), but I don’t like too sweet, and this turned out perfect to me. For halved plums, make sure to heap the cup as high as you can get it (I fit 10 small plums per cup). Blend the plums in a blender or food processor. Add plum mixture and sugar with about 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon per cup of plums to saucepan (don’t fill more than half full due to mixture boiling up during cooking).  Bring to boil, stirring often. Boil vigorously for 15-20 minutes (needs to thicken somewhat). I used pectin for my first trial run, but it didn’t do any better than my second trial without pectin. If you use pectin, just follow the directions on the package. If canning the jam, can right away while hot. Otherwise, let cool for about 30 minutes before refrigerating.

* How Much Saved – The plums weighed approximately 48 pounds, which would cost $2-3 per pound in the store to purchase. This saved us at least $120.

Lessons From Foraged Elderberries
Sometime after we discovered how wonderful our pears were, my husband saw some elderberries growing wild behind his work place. We weren’t positive what they were at first, but upon researching and positive identification, we discovered what a treasure we had found. Elderberries are very potent against colds and flu, and we had already been using this wonderful elixir in previous years to help keep our immune systems strong. Turns out these berries are very prevalent here, as we saw more after we picked this batch. Make sure to pick only the dark purple/black ones, as the red ones are said to be toxic.

Here’s what I did with the box we gathered. I made elderberry syrup, frozen blocks, and extract/tonic. For the syrup and frozen blocks, I first placed the berries, stems and all, in the freezer. I had read that this would make the berries easier to remove from the stems. It worked well, and I had my entourage help me pluck the berries (which they were happy to do!). After plucking them off, I then washed them thoroughly in a colander. Then I just covered with water in a saucepan, bringing them to a boil. I cooked them until they were soft, and the whole mixture was very dark purple (almost black). Next came the very messy part! I pressed them through the strainer, but I got a lot of seeds through, since my strainer is not fine. I then used a screen-type strainer with cheese cloth layered in it to strain out the rest of the seeds. Everything that the berries came in contact with were stained dark purple – so beware!

I then canned 3 pints of this elderberry juice/syrup and filled 2 ice cube trays as well.  After the ice cubes were frozen, I popped them out and sealed them in a freezer bag. These will be handy to add to hot tea in the winter to add flavor and immune-enhancing properties.

I also made an elderberry extract/tonic with vodka. This was more simple, as it didn’t require any cooking or straining. I simply plucked and washed the elderberries as above.  Then I filled a quart jar halfway with elderberries, followed by vodka added to the top. This mixture sat in a dark place for about a week until it was very dark in color. I then strained out the berries and added 1/3 cup sugar, shaking vigorously. I then returned it to the dark cupboard. Over the next couple days, I checked on it and shook it again as needed.  It was ready for drinking after 2 weeks, but will last indefinitely without canning or refrigeration (as the vodka preserves it). I plan to drink a small amount when feeling “under the weather.”  In order to remove all or most of the vodka, it can be added to a hot drink as well.

* How Much Saved – The elderberry extract I was purchasing each year to help ward off flus and colds cost me $13 per 8-ounce bottle. I now have on hand the equivalent of 8 of these, which saves me $104.

Lessons From Foraged Rosehips
Another foraged fruit we discovered that has great nutritional value is the rosehip. Rosehips are very high in Vitamin C, one of the richest sources, which is crucial in the winter months when colds and flu are at their peak. We discovered tons of the bright orange/red jewels on a family walk by a nearby lake. It was evident that they hadn’t been sprayed due to their wild habitat, so we spent about 20 minutes picking as many as we could reach. I got a small pan full (approximately 3 cups). At home, I proceeded to pick off the blossom ends (with the help of my sons again), washed them, and then placed in saucepan just covered with water. I boiled the rosehips until they turned soft and the water turned orange/red. I then poured off the liquid and added more water to the mixture, wanting to get as much of the benefit as possible out of the hips. Each time I added more water, I would let the mixture sit a few minutes and then would mash down on the rosehips, releasing some more of the juice. When I felt I had gotten most of the benefit from the hips doing this, I then poured the liquid into ice cube trays. When frozen, I removed the blocks and sealed in a freezer bag. I got 22 blocks out of the mixture and plan to add these to herb teas throughout the winter.

Rosehips can also be used to make jelly, jam, syrup, or wine.

The rosehip and elderberry frozen blocks are especially useful for children. My boys love drinking herb teas with honey, and I can add these blocks to serve more than one purpose – They add nutrition and immune support, and they also cool off the hot tea for safer, quicker drinking.

General Lessons
* Just about any fruit will stain your hands if you work with enough of it – even if it’s white fleshed. Wear gloves if you don’t want to dry out and stain your hands.
* A china cap strainer is invaluable if you want to process fruits for jam or sauce – worth it’s weight in gold for sure!
* With all this fruit, I have had to limit my young sons’ intake so as to not cause intestinal distress. Eating two plums, two apples, and two pears per day is not good for young tummies!
* Harvesting fruit trees is hard, messy work, and you have to work quickly to decide how you will use all the fruit. However, it is worth all the work to know you have some delicious, nutritious fruit available for the winter months.
* Growing fruit trees is very educational and fun for kids, and they really enjoy helping at all stages. Get them involved!

In conclusion, we are very humbled by the blessings we have found on our rented land. We are reaping from that which we have not sown, and our bounty is so rich we feel almost overwhelmed (in a good way). We plan to plant some more trees while here, and even if we aren’t here to enjoy the benefits, someone else will be. We are glad at that thought, as we know God will bless us again wherever we go.

What Can You Do If You Don’t Have Fruit On Your Property?
In our driving around, we have seen tons of apple trees loaded with fruit that are going untouched by those living there. If we didn’t have so much fruit ourselves, we would certainly stop and ask them if they will be using theirs. This works well, as we did this at our previous location. The apples we asked to pick were a nuisance to the homeowner, and they were glad to let us take them – They even said, “Yes, please take them, so we don’t have to clean up the yard.” I’m also amazed that the elderberries went untouched, even by the birds. Many people still have the mentality that they don’t want to work for something they don’t have to yet, and still others don’t know how valuable certain fruits are, such as rosehips and elderberries.

We have seen nut trees also that are not on our property, but they don’t appear to be ripe yet.  Once we see them falling from the trees, we plan to ask if we can gather some of them. Those things that are treasures to us as preppers are many times seen as a bother to others.  I recently saw a local Craig’s List ad for someone asking for unwanted fruit. They clearly stated that it was for their family’s use and not for animal use.

Don’t let the fruit on your property go to waste. And if you don’t have your own fruit, seek out locations for potential free fruit from those who don’t want theirs. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much money you can save and how much more prepared you’ll feel heading into the winter months. We saved a ton of money by working hard to process this free fruit on our rented property and the fruit we foraged wild. The total I estimate we saved from our free fruit is around $500, and that’s low-balling it.