What do you do with a lot of picked apples?

Peel and slice them for pie, applesauce or dried apple rings, or make caramel apples. A crank peeler handles a whole bag in a few minutes. Apples keep for weeks in the fridge crisper drawer.

How do you keep fresh-picked strawberries from going bad?

Don't wash them until you eat them, keep them in a single layer in a ventilated container in the fridge, and use them within a few days. Freeze or make jam with whatever you can't eat in time.

Is a jam maker worth it?

If you make jam more than once a season, it saves standing at the stove and stirring. For a single batch, a pot and a basic canning kit are enough.

Gadgets that make your U-pick haul easy

Updated: October 12, 2026

Coming home with ten pounds of fruit is the best part of a U-pick trip, until you have to deal with it. These gadgets turn the work into something people actually want to watch. We picked them from tests and roundups by Tasting Table, The Kitchn, Food Network and America's Test Kitchen; we have not tested each one ourselves.

Apples

The crank peeler is old-school and strangely satisfying: one turn peels, cores and slices the apple into a spiral.

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Strawberries

The slicer cup went viral for a reason: drop a strawberry in, press down, and it comes out in even slices. A huller pulls the green top out without wasting fruit.

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Cherries and berries

Pitting cherries one at a time takes forever. A multi pitter does six per push. For picking itself, a bucket that clips to your waist leaves both hands free for the bush.

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Jam and canning

The automatic jam maker stirs and cooks for you: add fruit, sugar and pectin, press a button and you have about four jars in around half an hour. For classic water-bath canning, start with a basic tool kit.