Image by Mike Goad from Pixabay
by Kelli Bowen
Did you know that apples are not native to North America? That’s right. European settlers brought apples with them in the 1600s. That is a fun fact. Another fun fact: crabapples ARE native to North America and I think these little tart babies have been overlooked too long!
Crab apples are fantastic. In the spring, the trees are gorgeous and fragrant. In the summer and fall, they provide small tart crabapples for eating (my kids love eating them right off the tree).
Later in the season, wildlife love them. Our dog Tugger used to disappear from time to time and he’d be under the crabapple tree gorging himself on treats.
Did you know that crabapples are naturally acidic and contain pectin? That’s right. Due to the crabapples natural state, they are a prime fruit for canning and making jelly.
Making crabapple jelly makes a person feel like a real pioneer. No boxed, liquid pectin or sure-jell needed. If you have crabapples, water and sugar…you’ve got yourself the ingredients for jelly.
Some people say you don’t even need to cut the crabapples. I feel like cutting them in half is helpful, or maybe it makes me feel less lazy, so I cut the crabapple in half, trim the blossom (the bottom green of the apple) and take off the stem. If there are any questionable parts on the fruit, I cut them off.
Put your crabapples in a pot and put enough water into the pot to just cover the fruit. Simmer. Don’t boil. Simmer 5-10 minutes and then mash the crabapples with a potato masher.
Use a cheesecloth or jelly bag and hang the bag of crabapple mash draining the juice into a kettle. Don’t squeeze the bag. If you squeeze, the jelly gets cloudy. Leave the bag dripping for a couple hours or put the contraption in the fridge overnight.
Once you have your crabapple tea, measure it. For every cup of “tea” add 3/4 cup sugar. Put this in a kettle and simmer. This is going to take awhile.
Add heat to try not to boil it over. Get out the wire whisk and keep the jelly moving as it heats. I have a candy thermometer handy. 220 is the magic number to get it to gel. If you’re impatient and boil your concoction too soon, it won’t set. If you’re impatient and only heat the concoction to 216, it won’t set.
Once the concoction is to the correct temperature, fill your sterilized and preheated jelly jars. Process in a hot water bath and listen to the sweet pops of victory. The next time you think you need a lot of work and ingredients to make a sweet treat-just grab some crabapples.
There are probably some crabapples in your neighborhood right now. Oh and don’t worry. If you screw it up and are impatient-congratulations! You just made crabapple syrup!
So if you want to feel like a real pioneer native-plant-using-boss, cozy up to the crabapple. Now where’s my griddle?
Kelli makes her home in Cass County with her husband, two daughters (10 and 7) and two dogs. She works for a regional seed company by day and tries to be an alright mom, wife, friend and writer by night.
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