6 Amazing Uses for Apples

An apple a day does more than you'll guess! Go beyond apple pie and learn how apples help you out at home.

1. Roast a juicy chicken
If your roasted chicken tends to emerge from the oven as dry as a snow boot on a summer's day, don't fret. The next time you roast a chicken, stuff an apple inside the bird before placing it in the roasting pan. When it's done cooking, toss the fruit in the trash, and get ready to sit down to a delicious -- and juicy -- main course.

2. Keep cakes fresh
Want a simple and effective way to extend the shelf life of your home-made or store-bought cakes? Store them with a half an apple. It helps the cake maintain its moisture considerably longer than merely popping it in the fridge.

3. Ripen green tomatoes
How's that? You just became the proud owner of a bunch of green tomatoes? No sweat. You can quickly ripen them up by placing them -- along with an already-ripe apple -- in a paper bag for a couple of days. For best results, maintain a ratio of about five or six tomatoes per apple.

4. Fluff up hardened brown sugar
Brown sugar has the irritating habit of hardening up when exposed to humidity. Fortunately, it doesn't take much to make this a temporary condition. Simply place an apple wedge in a self-sealing plastic bag with the chunk of hardened brown sugar. Tightly seal the bag and put it in a dry place for a day or two. Your sugar will once again be soft enough to use.

5. Absorb salt in soups and stews
Salting to taste is one thing, but it is possible to overdo it. When you find yourself getting heavy-handed with the saltshaker, simply drop a few apple (or potato) wedges in your pot. After cooking for another 10 minutes or so, remove the wedges -- along with the excess salt.

6. Use as decorative candleholders
Add a cozy, country feel to your table setting by creating a natural candleholder. Use an apple corer to carve a hole three-quarters of the way down into a pair of large apples, insert a tall decorative candle into each hole, surround the apples with a few leaves, branches, or flowers, and voilá! You have a lovely centerpiece.

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