crab apples

[landy 0]

Has anybody got any good recipes for using crab apples, one of the fields where we keep our horses has got a tree full of them and its a shame for them to go to waste -thanks

[Guest Jane Russell]

CRABAPPLES

 

Crabapples come in various sizes, colora and tastes. Some are golf ball size and others are the size of cherries. Some ripen red and other ripen yellow. Some are incredibly sweet but most are rather tart. Whatever kind you have, they will make good wine.

 

You can leave the peeling on the apples, but should try to remove the seeds (or at least do not cut or crush them). Wash the fruit carefully and put them (whole) in a bucket containing a gallon of water and a couple of crushed Campden tablets. Push them under the water often over a 4-6 hour period, then drain the water off and crush them in the busket with a piece of hardwood.

 

 

CRABAPPLE WINE

 

4 lbs ripe crabapples

2 lbs granulated sugar

1/4 tsp tannin

1/2 tsp acid blend

1/2 tsp pectic enzyme

1 tsp yeast nutrient

7-1/2 pts water

1 crushed Campden tablet

Champagne wine yeast

 

 

Clean and crush the crabapples as above. Boil the water and dissolve the sugar in it. Pour over crushed crabapples in primary. Cover with cloth and allow to cool to lukewarm. Add all ingredients except yeast and set aside for 12 hours. Add yeast and recover. Stir and knock down cap 2-3 daily for one week. Strain through nylon straining bag and let drip drain (do not squeeze). Let stand additional 24 hours and rack off sediments into secondary. Top up if required and fit airlock. Rack every 2 months. After third racking, check specific gravity and taste. If dry, stabilize, sweeten to taste, wait 10 days, and rack into bottles. Allow to age at least a year. [Adapted from Terry Garey's The Joy of Home Winemaking]

 

 

Spiced Crab Apples from USA

 

1 pound crabapples

1 cup sugar

20 whole cloves

5 allspice berries

3-inch stick of cinnamon

salt to taste

2 cups water

 

 

Wash the crabapples. Put all ingredients in a pot and simmer gently until the apples are just tender. Spoon out the fruit and pour a little juice over it. Serve hot or cold.

 

 

 

Rosehip & Apple Jelly

 

4lbs apples (windfalls will do)

 

2lbs ripe rosehips ~ Sugar

 

 

Peel apples, and place in pan with rosehips with just enough water to cover, plus 1 pint extra. Simmer slowly until cooked. Strain through jellybag overnight. Measure juice, allowing 1lb sugar per pint. Mix sugar and juice in pan and boil until setting point is reached. Pot into warm jars.

 

 

 

Hedgerow Jam

 

8oz rose hips ~ 1lb blackberries

 

8oz haws ~ 1lb elderberries ~ 8oz sloes

 

4oz hazelnuts ~ 8oz rowanberries

 

1lb crab apples ~ Sugar

 

 

Wash fruit well. Put rose hips, haws, rowanberries, sloes & chopped crab apples into pan, add water to cover, cook until tender. Sieve & weigh the pulp. Put pulp into pan with blackberries, elderberries, and chopped nuts, simmer for 15 minutes. Add 2lbs sugar plus the weight of the hip pulp in sugar. Cook over a low heat until sugar has dissolved, then boil rapidly until setting point is reach. Pot.

Edited September 8, 2006 by Jane Russell

[landy 0]

[greenman 221]

Rosehip & Apple Jelly

 

4lbs apples (windfalls will do)

 

2lbs ripe rosehips ~ Sugar

 

 

Peel apples, and place in pan with rosehips with just enough water to cover, plus 1 pint extra. Simmer slowly until cooked. Strain through jellybag overnight. Measure juice, allowing 1lb sugar per pint. Mix sugar and juice in pan and boil until setting point is reached. Pot into warm jars.

 

will this recipe work aswell without the rosehips? if i just use the crab apples is it the same amount of sugar per pint of juice after straining.