Things to do with crab apples?

[Jenise]

I've eaten exactly one crab apple in my entire life. It was in red juice and spicy, something I picked from the buffet in a hospital cafeteria when I was a tiny kid having mistaken it by color for a super large maraschino cherry.

So I'm no help to Susan B, whose house came with a gorgeous, prolific tree. What does one do with them besides "put them up" in jars with lots of spices and open them on holidays?

Bird food.

[David M. Bueker]

Throw them at Grackles.

Bird food.

Throw them at Grackles.

Well, that's helpful!

Crabapple Schnapps! This sounds like a Jenise kind of project. I have no experience with them except that when spiced, (pickled?) they are delicious. Our youngest son was still using a high chair, he was under two years old, and we were at my dad's for Christmas dinner. My step-mother put one on his plate, he picked it up and took a bite. His huge eyes grew even larger, "DELICIOUS" he said. I had no idea he knew that word, much less what it meant.
I Googled and saw recipes for crisps, jams, jellies, desserts, and crabapple flavored liquors.

[Jenise]

Okay, peanut gallery, had your fun now?

Seriously, there may be no good answer to my question. I went to Epicurious.com, that treasure trove of Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazine recipes from over the years, and found exactly one recipe. One! So, the 'thing', not 'things', they found to do with crab apples in all this time is turn them into jelly ostensibly, and turn that jelly into a glaze for cornish game hens. I'll post the recipe below just to take up space, but the outlook for Susan's crab apples looks pretty bleak!

Ingredients
1 3/4-pound Cornish game hens, halved
8 fresh sage leaves

2/3 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons crab apple jelly
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

Preparation
Preheat oven to 450°F. Starting at neck end of hens, slide fingers between skin and breasts to loosen skin. Place 2 sage leaves under skin of each breast half. Sprinkle hens with salt and pepper. Transfer hens, skin side up, to medium roasting pan. Roast hens 15 minutes. Meanwhile, simmer 1/3 cup wine, jelly, and shallots in heavy small saucepan until glaze is slightly thickened, about 6 minutes. Stir in chopped sage.

Brush half of glaze on roasted hens. Roast hens 5 minutes more. Brush with remaining glaze. Roast until hens are cooked through and glaze is bubbling, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer to platter.

Spoon off fat from juices in pan. Place roasting pan directly atop 2 burners over medium heat. Add remaining 1/3 cup wine and boil until liquid is reduced by 1/3, about 5 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Spoon over hens.

I thought I did a fine job of answering the question which IIRC was: "What does one do with them besides "put them up" in jars with lots of spices and open them on holidays"?
I leave them on the tree and they provide late winter nourishment to a variety of hungry birds. That's what I do with them and I happen to think that is helpful, especially if you're a hungry bird.

[Jenise]

Bill, that IS a good thing to do with them. I had people telling me I better put netting over my blueberries to keep the birds from getting them, and my response was "I'm happy to share". God knows every day, there's less quality habitat for these precious creatures.

But still, I'm surprised to discover that there's so little done with them as human food.

They make excellent jelly.

I agree with Robert, my mother mad a crab apple jelly every year when I was growing up in New England and I still remember it as being delicious and everyone liking it. That said, naturally I have no idea of the recipe but it was common with other families also.

Wonderful magnificent jelly, or pectin for other jams.



Here's our crabapple jelly post: http://figjamandlimecordial.com/2009/03 ... ple-jelly/

Thanks, Jenise for the original post. So far other than eating them, I have "pickled" four batches using two different recipes. I am trying to reproduce those that my great grandmother always made. I made a small batch of "conserve', but wasn't pleased. After seeing Celia's jelly recipe I think I need to cook it longer. I have about 8 more pounds, I am going to make Celia's jelly! I should have lots.

BTW Bill, last year we left most of them on the tree, intending that they feed the birds, but nearly all of them fell to the ground and became worm food instead. Maybe I have the wrong kind, or we have the wrong climate. Our birds don't eat the rugosa and other rose hips either. The mountain ash, are completely cleared of berries at the beginning of autumn. . . usually by starlings.

[Jenise]

They make excellent jelly.

Yeah, apparently they're naturally high in pectin.

Susan, can I come up and pick one of your crab apples? I'd like to taste one raw--they're so beautifully crimson, unlike any I've seen before.

Celia, I had to look up "calico" in the dictionary as calico here is the states is generally a small printed, somewhat loose fabric, different that the British usage. That is was sold me on making the jelly. I didn't want to have to buy a single use tool to break down or strain the apples. I am sure I have something that will do the trick in my stash of fabrics. The spiced apples have the same beautiful color that your jelly does.

Jenise, of course, help yourself. They are getting pretty ripe and Michael has taken most of them off to help with the jelly making, but there are still several branches left. I find that if you omit the stem and blossom end the rest can be eaten whole. (I am headed south today so will miss your day to celebrate my mother's birthday.)

[Jenise]

So I have just eaten four of Susan's crab apples. They are delicious! I always thought crab apples weren't edible as fruit, but that's clearly not true. Yes they're tart, but for some of us that's a plus, very wine-y too, leaning toward riesling. If I had that tree in my yard I doubt there'd be many left over for jelly.

Susan, if you cook jelly too long, the pectin will actually break down and lose its 'jell'. A good rule of thumb is start with 1 cup of sugar to one cup of juice for high-pectin fruits such as apples and crabapples. Bring the juice to a rolling boil, then add the sugar all at once, bringing the mixture back to a boil. After about 4 or 5 minutes at a boil, test with a spoon - if the mixture comes off the tilted spoon in a sheet vs dripping, it is ready to jar. Once it sheets, take it off the heat.

That's how my Grandma taught me to make jelly, and it works well. We used to make it in an aluminum dishpan.

Also, get a copy of the Ball Blue Book - it is the home canning bible.

Susan, we found this youtube clip really helpful!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56S1clCWPR4

Sorry for the confusing terminology - a muslin or "jam bag" is often used. Big thing is to remember not to squish the fruit as it's draining. I envy you - crabapples are so rare here, and crabapple jelly is really the queen of preserves! We've planted a tree, but I'm not optimistic - Sydney's a little too warm.

To get a really clear jelly, you need to skim the foam off fastidiously, although the foam is a great sign that there is lots of pectin in the fruit. There's a bit of an art to jelly making - as RR points out, if you boil it too long, you end up with syrup!