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What to Do with All those Crab Apples

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what to do with all those crab apples

Starting in August I’ve had what feels like a boundless supply of crab apples. First I had a jamming session with a friend after picking half of the apples off her tree – we got 22 jars of jelly and 21 cups of applesauce. Then we had a juicing party with the other half a few weeks later. Come September I was gifted yet another large haul of apples.  I think it is safe to say I’ve officially had my fill of crab apple preserving this year. :)

Last year we were foraging in our city park for crab apples that were growing wild. I gathered just enough to make some jelly and cider, and that was it for the season. This year I had a harder time deciding what to make but ended up with some pretty tasty things and a few new ideas for next year.

In an effort to detail things for my own memory, and to hopefully help out any others who may have run out of ideas on what to do with their plethora of crab apples, I thought I’d write a post about which recipes I made, and give a few more ideas that I hope to try in coming years. Let’s get started.

what to do with all those crab apples

Crab Apple Jelly

This is my favourite thing to make with crab apples and will always be the recipe I make first and foremost. It’s my family’s favourite jam/jelly and we ran out way too quickly last year. If I had only a small amount of crab apples I would opt to turn it all into crab apple jelly and not have enough for anything else. It is just that good. This is how I make mine, except that I can it in a water bath rather than using wax.

To can: following the instructions in my canning basics post, fill half pint jars with jelly, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes (or more depending on your altitude).

Applesauce

Once the crab apple jelly is made you can turn the leftover apple pulp into applesauce (waste not, want not!). Since the apples retain their flesh in the making of the jelly, and are already cooked in the process, you simply have to put them through a food mill our press them through a fine mesh sieve (à la this recipe). This applesauce will need some sweetener to help it out so make sure to heat it up with some sugar, honey, or maple syrup before storing in the fridge (or freezer), or canning it.

To can: following the instructions in my canning basics post, fill pint jars with hot applesauce, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes (or more depending on your altitude).

Crab Apple Juice

The first time we made crab apple juice, we used my juicer. I have to admit we were a little disappointed by how much juice we got out of it. We used just as many apples as we did to make over 20 cups each of jelly and applesauce, but we ended up getting only 4 quarts of juice. We sweetened it with some sugar and I will probably be simmering it with some spices on the stovetop soon, turning it into cider. It’s pretty pulpy so I plan on straining it through coffee filters before serving.

The next time I made juice, I tried this version, which I discovered both through a friend and a reader, so I figured I would give it a try. While the natural juice that I made with the juicer was a brown colour similar to regular apple juice, this version gave me a gorgeous bright red juice. It also made a bit more too, although I don’t think it will ever seem like very much because you drink it faster than you use up something like, jelly. It may not be as natural and nutritious as the juiced version, but I would opt to make this version again in the future. (Plus, you could potentially turn the leftover apples, in this version, into applesauce – bonus!)

Both juices are quite strong in flavour, and taste very concentrated, so you will probably want to water them down with water (sparkling would be delicious!), before serving. Which, in the end just gives you more juice! :)

To can either version: following the instructions in my canning basics post, fill quart jars with hot juice, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Process in a water bath canner for 5 minutes (or more depending on your altitude).

Crab Apple Cider

You can either change your juice into cider by simmering with cinnamon and allspice. Or, if you plan on enjoying it only as cider why not can it pre-made? Make a batch of my apple cider and can it just as you would the crab apple juice!

what to do with all those crab apples

 A few more ideas:

These ideas are untested by me but caught my interest. I will most likely be giving them a try at one time or another.

Can you find crab apples where you live? What are you favourite ways to preserve them?


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