Tiny little sour apples... any good for cooking?

twink

angela your jam wont be pale if you throw in some rosehips as well, you get the added vit c too, i did that last time this time i have made another batch with brambles to colour and a little root ginger

skywatching

I bought a cooking apple tree a few years ago and [EMAIL="I@ve"]I've[/EMAIL] recently discovered it's a crab apple. The tree is saturated with little orange & yellow fruit right now. [EMAIL="I@m"]I'm[/EMAIL] not too keen on the idea of apple jelly so I was wondering if I should put the fruit on ebay???
I have heard though that they cook the same as cooking apples but need a bit more sugar. I'll give it a go and see.

Angelina-M

Actually thats a very good idea. I'll add some blackberries and quite a lot of rosehips (for the vit c and other goodies) and have a lovely hedgerow jam!

Skywatching, yes give it a go and let us know what its like!

Katgoddess

My red crab apple tree was ripe a few weeks ago. I was never interested in making crab apple jelly (which I think you use like cranberry sauce?) so they've been composted!!!! I didn't know you could make sweet jam with them.

martindow

I'm not sure you can use crab apples like cooking apples. By the time you have carefully peeled them and cut out the core you will be lucky to have anything left. If you ever have enough to cook, it will probably be next autumn. This is why they are usually used to make a jelly where you just cut them in half, boil them and strain the juice. Like some other posters my crab apples are ripe now. Some trees do hold the fruit into the winter so in the past these would have been left to be used after the busy harvest time was over.

twink

when i make crab apple jam i put them into the pan whole then sieve them when cooked and use the pulp for jam, thats how i can throw in brambles, elders or rowans in too, they dont take very long to go soft
might be worth a try for an apple sauce, dont use too much water, add sugar, cook then sieve

Angelina-M

I shall be off out soon with the dogs. I'm taking a bag with me and will be picking some blackberries (its the straggles left now) some rosehips and a few crab apples. I'll chuck them in a pan and make some jam. I'll report back if we like it.

Isnt wild food exciting lol!

Right i've got a bag of blackberries, a bag of rosehips and some crab apples. I shall have a quick go at making some jam out of them this afternoon.... I hope I like the taste of rosehips!

Angelina-M

Well I tried a little of the rose hip water....... and its disgusting! I hope I like it more when it goes into the jam.

I ate a little of the skin whilst walking (avoiding the inner bit with the hairs) and found them quite pleasant so I can at least eat a few on my walks for the next few weeks and stock up my vit C. :T

twink

angelina i just bunged everything in the one pan, crab apples, rosehips, rowans, elders and brambles, cooked in water and sieved, then made the jam

adouglasmhor

skywatching wrote: »

I bought a cooking apple tree a few years ago and I've recently discovered it's a crab apple. The tree is saturated with little orange & yellow fruit right now. I'm not too keen on the idea of apple jelly so I was wondering if I should put the fruit on ebay???
I have heard though that they cook the same as cooking apples but need a bit more sugar. I'll give it a go and see.

Your graft has died and the rootstock has grown instead, a lot of cultivated fruit trees need a rootstock from a wild variety to grow on. It also makes it easier to dwarf them, a full size apple tree can be nearly as big as an oak sometimes.