Crab Apple Jam Recipe

Behind the cottage we rent, there is a crab apple tree. I first discovered it too late in the season and then last year the squirrels and animals got to the crab apples before I could. I have never made a recipe with crab apples, and they are much too tart and sour to eat raw, yet there is something truly romantic and sweet about crab apples in September.

There are many varieties of crab apples and the ones in our yard are very small, about the size of cherries. I was not certain that it was worth cooking with them, but how wrong I was. I’m glad that I gave it a try because this crab apple jam is now one of my favorite apple recipes. I looked up several recipes and some called for lemon juice. Another used juice from an orange. I did not have a lemon in my fridge, but I did have a single orange, so I worked with what was available.

Crab apple jam recipe

For this recipe you will need a cup and a half of crab apples. Cut them in half and simmer them in a pot with juice from one orange until it begins to bubble. Then add a half cup of water and a half cup of sugar. Stir and bring to a boil. You can add a sprinkle of cinnamon if you enjoy the flavor. Once the apples are cooked through and soft, smash them down with a potato masher. If your recipe is too watery, cook on low-medium heat until more of the water evaporates. It will solidify more as it cools.

When it is set, pour it into jars and keep it in the fridge. Some recipes I read said that it can keep up to a year in the fridge, but I would try using it within the first month or so unless it has been properly canned and stored away.

In the Secret Garden . . .

Behind the cottage we rent, there are pathways going down the hills and wrapping around the property to the barn, the apple trees and the pond down by the fields. It is a magical property with views of the hills and surrounding farms. Until recently, it was difficult to get down there because the grass grows so high, taller than me in some areas. My cousin Brian came over with his special lawn mower and made some surprise trails. It opened a whole new world to us.

In one of the clearings he made, Matthew hung a swing from the red apple tree. If you were to follow the meadow trail behind the greenhouse, you would come to a clearing at the end of the yard overlooking our neighbor’s farm. From that overlook is where the hidden trail goes down the hill and wraps around behind the barn. The goldenrod is growing bright and tall. It is behind the red apple tree with the swing where the crab apple tree looms over the hill.

Crab apples fall across the grass like confetti. Foraging squirrels and chipmunks gather them for a tasty tart snack. Bushel basket in hand, I picked crab apples with the goal of trying something new.

After rinsing the apples, I cut them in half and placed them in the pot with the juice that I squeezed from an orange. They are much too small to peel or de-seed. In this recipe, we use the whole crab apple, but I did cut off some of the ends.

The next morning I spread the crab apple jam on an English muffin. It tastes surprisingly sweet and most of the tart flavor has been cooked away. With the cinnamon, it tastes like a spiced apple sauce.