Pickled Crab Apples 1995 Canning Recipe
Ah, the satisfaction of watching your bucket fill up as you walk around the apple trees, picking the round, hard, ripe fruit. Then back home...with all those full buckets! What to do now? How about trying canning some pickled Crab Apples this year? The final delicious product is both tart and sweet - great for adding to recipes & using as a topping throughout the year. You can even gift the pretty finished product in its glass jar with a red ribbon tied around.
This recipe creates about 3 quarts or 6 pints and is made over two days, because the apples need time to soak in their pickling liquid.
You'll need the following ingredients:
- 2 quarts crab apples with stems (around 2.5 LBS)
- 1.5 TBLS whole cloves
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1.5 TBLS whole allspice
- 3 C vinegar
- 3 C water
- 6 C sugar
Tie your spices together in cheesecloth. Rinse your crab apples until clean. To prevent the apples from bursting, prick each apple with a sterilized knife tip or needle.
Put water, vinegar and sugar in a large stockpot. lower in your spice bag and heat the water until boiling and let the spices simmer in the water for around 5 minutes. (It will smell wonderful!) Lower in apples, creating one layer at a time. Simmer until tender. Remove apples with a slotted spoon and set them in a separate large pot.
Return to a boil the liquid remaining in the pot. Using a large canning ladle, pour this hot pickling liquid over your apples. Cover the pot and let your apples stand for 12 - 18 hours in a cool place.
When the 12 - 18 hours have passed, remove the apples and the spice bag and put the pickling liquid over heat and bring to a boil.
Pack apples into prepared hot glass jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles.
Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints and quarts for 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.
Have fun adding these to recipes throughout the coming months. Try them with roasted meats and veggies, as sandwich toppings or even in baking. Enjoy!