Crabapple Jelly
There is a common misconception that crabapples aren’t good for much, merely because their size prohibits easy peeling and coring. And their name characterizes them unfairly.
(W used to call them “crap apples”.)
But in reality, having all the flavour and tartness of a full apple packed into such a condensed space is a good thing; and the fact that they are ripe and ready right at harvest time can’t be a coincidence. Loaded with flavour and pectin (especially the cores, so you don’t want to core them anyway), crabapples are delicious insurance that your jams and jellies will set, without buying and upending a packet of powdered stuff into your pot. Apple is delicious with berries, plums, or any other fruits you want to toss in – but there’s nothing wrong with straight-up crabapple, either.
I happened to be gifted with a bucket of equally tart and tiny plums – crabplums – which were equally impossible to pit. And so they joined the party – a potful, covered with water, simmered until sludgy, then strained through a colander (or cheesecloth if you want a clearer jelly) and brought to a boil with sugar. You don’t need a particular quantity of crabapples – just whatever you manage to shake from your tree. And have a bag of sugar on hand.
People use jelly bags (or make them) to create a slow drip of pure, clear juice for their jellies – the rule is to not push or otherwise disrupt the solids, which will produce a cloudy (gasp!) jelly. I don’t particularly mind this, and tend to swish the apple mash around in the strainer to extract as much as possible. It’s lovely and pink. If you have a second pot, you can straight it directly into it.
What makes people most nervous about jam and jelly making is the setting. There are a few ways to go about this – you could boil it to 220F on a candy thermometer, or test it for the gelling stage by dripping some onto a plate in the freezer and pushing it with your finger to see if it wrinkles. My candy thermometer is packed away somewhere, and so I took the wait-and-see approach, and cooked it until it went from looking like bubbling juice to bubbling jam. The bubbles are thicker and slower, and the foam that rises to the surface turns dense and almost clumpy – don’t skim it off right away; it’s a good indicator that your jelly is done. When you pour it into jars, the surface will start to cool – pushing it with a spoon produces the same wrinkled effect you get by using your finger and a cold plate. You can see it starting to gel.
I don’t bother with the pressure canning process – jellies like this keep well in the fridge for months, and rather than push them to the back to be forgotten until next spring, when I decide it might be a good idea to clean out the fridge, I give away the surplus.
And if your jelly doesn’t set, just call it crabapple syrup – to drizzle over ice cream or cakes or into cocktails or tea – and it will still be delicious.
Crabapple Jelly
AuthorJulieWash, stem and halve or quarter the apples into a large pot. (Don’t bother to peel or core them.) Add a few handfuls of black currants or cranberries or a few pitted and quartered plums, if you like. Add enough water to just cover them and bring to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the apples are very soft. Let the apples cool in the liquid.
Strain the juice into a large bowl or pot, pressing the apples a bit to get every bit out. (Some people don't do this as it can make your jelly cloudy - I don't mind.)
Measure the resulting juice into a pot (this is easy if you drain it into a pot with measurements marked on the side) and add 3/4 cup sugar for every cup of juice. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil rapidly, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220°F on a thermometer (or about 2 degrees less per 1000 feet above sea level), or until a small amount placed on a cold plate wrinkles when you push it with your finger. It should take about half an hour.
While it’s still hot, pour the jelly into clean, hot jars, skim off any foam that rises to the top with a spoon, and seal with lids. Set aside to cool. (I find that if I use hot jelly and hot jars, straight from the dishwasher, they seal properly and I can store them for a long time, but this is not proper advice - so feel free to follow proper canning instructions.)
Ingredients
I don’t even bother to stem or halve crabapples anymore, let alone cut off the blossom ends…it makes absolutely no difference in the end! But a trick I learned from a master jam-maker a few years ago is to run the cooked fruit left in your jelly bag through a food mill or a sieve (easier if you add a bit of water back to it) and use the resulting pomace in making other jams. It’s guaranteed to set, doesn’t require longer than about ten minutes cooking, and you can adjust the sugar to taste.
4 cups crabapple pomace, 4 cups blackberries, and six cups of sugar is tart and yummy and way better than straight blackberry jam, let alone anything you could buy in the store.
My jelly bag(s) are big square hunks of old bedsheets 🙂
I took your advice and just milled 10 cups of pomace. Now I’ll find 4 cups of something in season and will be thanking you again. Thank you! It was my first time and I didn’t stem or quarter my crabapples 🙂
Love this — I just made spiced crab apples on the blog the other day! I am so jealous of your crab plums…never even knew they existed 🙂
My MIL just gave us two jars of crabapple jelly last week. They’re already gone! It’s so delicious!
Bistro Sakana in Yaletown. Best sushi I’ve ever had. So so good! Have a great trip…hopefully the sun will say hello while you are here. 🙂
Crabapple is the type of tree I enjoy when it’s in someone else’s yard. I love making the jelly, but not quite as much jelly as the tree in our old yard wanted me to
Yum!! I’d love to try this jelly with both the crabapples and the plums as they’re both abundant at the markets this fall.
I have a crabapple tree and made jelly with the apples for the first time last week. The results were great, and I have a new thing to do every fall.
Julie,
Those jars of jelly have an amazing colour!
Crabapple harvest – is there a nicer sign of Autumn? Red crabapples, golden leaves, clear blue sky.
Stewed, sweetened crabapples with hot buttered toast is an old timey breakfast I need to put into rotation this time of year. Super tasty, plus it’s fun to slurp them by their stems off their little cores. Yummy hot or chilled. Reminds me of my parents and grandparents.
I made a batch of jalapeno crabapple jelly last Fall, excellent with aged cheddar, cream cheese, etc.
I think I need a little batch of crabapple syrup – a crabapple Sidecar might be a good idea for a weekend cocktail.
I shake all down all the ones i can’t use for the does and fawns – hooved crabapple Hoovers.
cheers,
jake
Thank you for this. My aunt always made crabapple jelly and I loved it. I never had her recipe, I’m not sure she ever used one. I will make some!
I made crabapple jelly for the first time this year; it turned out great! Not bad for my first ever jelly! I wasn’t able to make all my one tree produced, but it’s on the schedule for next year. I will have to add this recipe as an alternative.
Hi Julie,
I read your blog about this machine with great interest.
I am looking for a foodprocessor or mixer that can mix speculaas dough (and other dough of the same consistency). I’ve always done it by hand but my hands are getting weaker due to MS and I can’t do the heavy kneading anymore. I already tried a whole variety: Cuisinart, Kitchenaid and now the latest a Kenwood foodprocessor. I do already have a Cuisinart stand mixer which does a great job in almost every thing except the heavier doughs where you need to cut in the butter and than knead it into a ball.
Not any of the ones I had did a decent job, they all end up with a layer of dough in the bottom and the knifes just keep running over the dough lined bottom. I constantly need to use a spatula to get the dough mixed.
The latest, the Kenwood, is by far the worst (and the most expensive one) I have ever had. I bought it last year just before Sinterklaas (Dec. 5th) and it already gave a lot of problems and now even the attachment broke off. The flour and dough is getting into the hollow parts of the knife attachment.
Do you think this one would do a satisfiable job in kneading heavier dough (the ones with cold butter)?
I know this blog is already a year old so I will also email you, might you not have the time to go through all of the comments ons your awesome blog 🙂
Thanks!
Anneke
Anneke, have you tried a stand mixer instead of a food processor? That’s the route I’d go – a Kitchen Aid stand mixer with a spatula paddle attachment to ensure you scrape the bottom of the bowl as you go.
Hi, when do you put in the lemon?
Your jelly looks delicious! I can’t wait to make it as my neighbour was kind enough to let me pick the crabapples in his garden and they are beautiful ripe ones! I love your preserving jars. If you don’t mind me asking where you purchased those. Thank you.
I have found the best way to extract juice from Crabapples is with a Steam Juicer. They can be purchased at Kitchen shops or Home Hardware for example.
You litteraly wash the crabapples and that is it. Into the pot they go and within 20 to 30 minutes, voila’ you have beautiful clear juice. That’s my tip for those who love crabapple jelly and want to simplify the process.
Love crab apple jelly, I’ve been making it for, years. 30 jars, this year, my family, and friends love it, too. It’s amazing on brie cheese, or, cambazola cheese, too. If you really want to try a completely different, jelly, which is so amazing. Try making, ‘peony jelly,’ it’s out of this world…really, it is! Wish I could post a picture of it, made 30 jars of it, too! No matter what you make, it’s always nice to give as gifts!
Wow, that sounds amazing! 30 jars – how many peonies did you have?!
Hi Julie, I have about 10 plants, and a few neighbours gave me some peony flowers, too. Of course, the more flowers I cut, the more came. 😉
Is that how it works?!
Yes, it works like that with most flowering plants. If the flowers are dying off then, cut them, off. This, allows the nutrients to go to the new growth. We call it, ‘dead heading.’
My jelly turned out great. I cut back a bit on the sugar and boiled it more. The apple were chubbier We get a kick out of the lids popping Yum!
220 here in yyc or at sea level?
I made it in yyc!
I need someone to answer a question for me..please i was in the process of making jelly and had to stop because of stuff lol anyways i made it to th stage where you hang the apples to drain an had to stp so i put the juice in the fridge and its been there for 3 days. Is it still good to go to continue the last part of cooking the juice with sugar or is it way to late for that
Nope, not too late. I end up having to do batch #2 a few days later, too. You have to boil it for 20 minutes or so anyway. Do it tonight or tomorrow and all will be well.
Thanks Leila!
Hi Julie,
Quick question. I have a variety of jelly/jams made in the fall and am wondering how/if I could open a few and incorporate a jalapeño to make a spicy jelly for appi’s ?? Is this even possible or would it make the peach jelly and blueberry medley jam rock hard jelly? Any thoughts? I have 2 cases of 250 ml jars of jam/jelly and thought I have plenty enough for toast etc but a few covid /appi xmas gifts for my neighbors might be nice …. any advice?
Thanks. P
I am wondering if I need to add water to crabapple juice when I have used my steamer juice extractor if I want to use liquid pectin. Can I use the pure juice in the same quantity that shows in the pectin recipe?
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