Guest guest Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 For the past 24 years a gnarled, ratty looking crab apple tree in our back yard has given us its bounty and I have canned hundreds of jars of crabapple jelly, crabapple preserves, crabapple butter and spiced crabapples. It has fed a family of yellow bellied sapsuckers which are very rare this far south. Our sons, grandsons and granddaughter have all climbed this tree many times. Sadly, after so many years, the tree was recently hit by lightning. Here's my memorial service for the dearly departed. Spiced Crabapples 5 lbs crabapples 4½ cups apple cider vinegar (5%) 3¾ cups water 7½ cups sugar 4 tsp whole cloves 4 sticks cinnamon Six ½-inch cubes of fresh ginger root Yield: About 9 pints Procedure: Remove blossom petals and wash apples, but leave stems attached. Puncture the skin of each apple four times with an ice pick or toothpick. Mix vinegar, water, and sugar and bring to a boil. Add spices tied in a spice bag or cheesecloth. Using a blancher basket or sieve, immerse 1/3 of the apples at a time in the boiling vinegar/syrup solution for 2 minutes. Place cooked apples and spice bag in a clean 1- or 2-gallon crock or large bowl and add hot syrup. Cover and let stand overnight. (I refrigerate overnight rater than letting it sit on the counter.) Remove spice bag, drain syrup into a large saucepan, and reheat to boiling. Fill pint jars with apples and hot syrup, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. I like to put a couple whole cloves, a couple pieces of ginger root and a piece of whole cinnamon in the jars with the apples. Using nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim removing any stickiness. Center lid on jar; apply screw band securely & firmly until resistance is met –fingertip tight. Do not over tighten. Place jar in canner; repeat for remaining crabapples and hot liquid. Cover canner; bring water to a boil. At altitudes up to 1000 ft (305 m), process –boil filled jars – 20 minutes. When processing time is complete, turn heat off and remove canner lid. When boil subsides - bubbles no longer rise to surface (3 to 5 minutes) - remove jars without tilting. Cool jars upright, undisturbed 24 hours. DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands. After cooling, check jar seals. Sealed lids curve downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. (If you find a jar which has not sealed, remove band and lid, wipe top of jar with wet cloth, put on a new lid and band and re-process.) Farewell old friend, Jeanne in Georgia Everyone is raving about the all-new Mail Beta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 17, 2006 Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 ha ha ha... you are too funny and too lucky to have had such a bounty in your life. Whitney --- treazure noname <treazured wrote: > For the past 24 years a gnarled, ratty looking crab > apple tree in our back yard has given us its bounty > and I have canned hundreds of jars of crabapple > jelly, crabapple preserves, crabapple butter and > spiced crabapples. It has fed a family of yellow > bellied sapsuckers which are very rare this far > south. Our sons, grandsons and granddaughter have > all climbed this tree many times. Sadly, after so > many years, the tree was recently hit by lightning. > Here's my memorial service for the dearly departed. > > > Spiced Crabapples > 5 lbs crabapples > 4½ cups apple cider vinegar (5%) > 3¾ cups water > 7½ cups sugar > 4 tsp whole cloves > 4 sticks cinnamon > Six ½-inch cubes of fresh ginger root > Yield: About 9 pints > Procedure: Remove blossom petals and wash apples, > but leave stems attached. Puncture the skin of each > apple four times with an ice pick or toothpick. Mix > vinegar, water, and sugar and bring to a boil. Add > spices tied in a spice bag or cheesecloth. Using a > blancher basket or sieve, immerse 1/3 of the apples > at a time in the boiling vinegar/syrup solution for > 2 minutes. Place cooked apples and spice bag in a > clean 1- or 2-gallon crock or large bowl and add hot > syrup. Cover and let stand overnight. (I > refrigerate overnight rater than letting it sit on > the counter.) Remove spice bag, drain syrup into a > large saucepan, and reheat to boiling. Fill pint > jars with apples and hot syrup, leaving 1/2-inch > headspace. I like to put a couple whole cloves, a > couple pieces of ginger root and a piece of whole > cinnamon in the jars with the apples. Using > nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles. Wipe jar > rim removing any stickiness. Center lid on jar; > apply screw band securely & > firmly until resistance is met –fingertip tight. > Do not over tighten. Place jar in canner; repeat > for remaining crabapples and hot liquid. > > Cover canner; bring water to a boil. At altitudes > up to 1000 ft (305 m), process –boil filled jars > – 20 minutes. When processing time is complete, > turn heat off and remove canner lid. When boil > subsides - bubbles no longer rise to surface (3 to 5 > minutes) - remove jars without tilting. Cool jars > upright, undisturbed 24 hours. DO NOT RETIGHTEN > screw bands. > > After cooling, check jar seals. Sealed lids curve > downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw > bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw > bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as > desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark > place. (If you find a jar which has not sealed, > remove band and lid, wipe top of jar with wet cloth, > put on a new lid and band and re-process.) > > Farewell old friend, Jeanne in Georgia > > > > > > Everyone is raving about the all-new Mail > Beta. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 7, 2006 Report Share Posted August 7, 2006 Would love to see more of the crabappe recipes!!!! I don't think we have them here in Texas, but when I visit home (Minnesota) I get bundles of them. I've only used them for crabapple pies, but would like to see what else I can do woth them!!!! Wanda treazure noname <treazured wrote: For the past 24 years a gnarled, ratty looking crab apple tree in our back yard has given us its bounty and I have canned hundreds of jars of crabapple jelly, crabapple preserves, crabapple butter and spiced crabapples. It has fed a family of yellow bellied sapsuckers which are very rare this far south. Our sons, grandsons and granddaughter have all climbed this tree many times. Sadly, after so many years, the tree was recently hit by lightning. Here's my memorial service for the dearly departed. Spiced Crabapples 5 lbs crabapples 4½ cups apple cider vinegar (5%) 3¾ cups water 7½ cups sugar 4 tsp whole cloves 4 sticks cinnamon Six ½-inch cubes of fresh ginger root Yield: About 9 pints Procedure: Remove blossom petals and wash apples, but leave stems attached. Puncture the skin of each apple four times with an ice pick or toothpick. Mix vinegar, water, and sugar and bring to a boil. Add spices tied in a spice bag or cheesecloth. Using a blancher basket or sieve, immerse 1/3 of the apples at a time in the boiling vinegar/syrup solution for 2 minutes. Place cooked apples and spice bag in a clean 1- or 2-gallon crock or large bowl and add hot syrup. Cover and let stand overnight. (I refrigerate overnight rater than letting it sit on the counter.) Remove spice bag, drain syrup into a large saucepan, and reheat to boiling. Fill pint jars with apples and hot syrup, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. I like to put a couple whole cloves, a couple pieces of ginger root and a piece of whole cinnamon in the jars with the apples. Using nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim removing any stickiness. Center lid on jar; apply screw band securely & firmly until resistance is met –fingertip tight. Do not over tighten. Place jar in canner; repeat for remaining crabapples and hot liquid. Cover canner; bring water to a boil. At altitudes up to 1000 ft (305 m), process –boil filled jars – 20 minutes. When processing time is complete, turn heat off and remove canner lid. When boil subsides - bubbles no longer rise to surface (3 to 5 minutes) - remove jars without tilting. Cool jars upright, undisturbed 24 hours. DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands. After cooling, check jar seals. Sealed lids curve downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. (If you find a jar which has not sealed, remove band and lid, wipe top of jar with wet cloth, put on a new lid and band and re-process.) Farewell old friend, Jeanne in Georgia . .._,___ Next-gen email? Have it all with the all-new Mail Beta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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