The recipe I use:
1 gallon crabapples
4 cups distilled white vinegar
6 cups sugar
2 cups water
2 sticks cinnamon, broken up
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon whole allspice
Wash the apples. Do not peel (wouldn't that be a job with crabapples!)
Mix together vinegar, water and sugar; bring to a boil.
Put the combined spices in a cheesecloth bag (I used a piece of old sheer panel curtain). Add to the boiling liquid and boil for about 10 minutes.
Add the apples and cook until tender, but don't overcook them (or they'll be mushy). Remove the bag of spices.
Pack apples into hot sterilized jars and cover with the boiling syrup. Seal and process. (I do mine in a water-bath canner, but today's regs call for pressure canning everything. If you use a pressure canner, follow the instructions for processing pickles.)
I doubled this recipe yesterday.
Looks delicious. Are they crisp or soft at this point? Do you just eat them from the jar or are they good with certain things? Sorry for all the questions.
ReplyDeleteDeloutre
They're soft but firm when finished, if that makes sense. I eat them from the jar--they're more candied than pickled, as you might be able to tell from the amount of sugar.
ReplyDeleteThey're delicious cold. I think the syrup may actually set into jelly on this batch, it was so thick--lots of pectin in these little apples. They're also pretty as a garnish. The redder the apples, the better, and of course you'd want apples that had a little size to them to be worth the trouble; otherwise you'd be canning skin, stem and seeds!
So happy to be back at the computer so I can visit friends. Those crabapples surely look delicious! How are they served? Like a chutney or cranberry sauce sort of thing, as a savory?
ReplyDeletewhere can i buy crab apples??????
ReplyDeletemy Ball book says that we should put a needle size hole through the apples to prevent them from exploding. have you ever had an issue with this? seems pretty time consuming. would like to skip it if possible. Thank You
ReplyDeleteI have read that you can also just use a fork to poke them with. Might make it a little easier than a needle! :)
ReplyDelete