Crab apples

We have two large crab apple trees in our back yard. They look amazing in the spring, smell delightful in the summer and are full of colour in the fall.

The trick is to find enough things to do with them before they freeze and fall to the ground making a REALLY BIG mess. So this is what I do...

First I pick box after box full of beautiful red crab apples...Then I cook them...

With my steam juicer (that I found on ebay for an amazing $45 including shipping)I get this amazing coloured juice...

that I then make into delicious crab apple cider. I also froze to ice cream buckets full of crab apple slush.

I also make applesauce with them, they are pretty tart on their own so I mix them with a sweeter apple like a gala and make this beyond amazingly delicious apple sauce that comes through the food strainer (again I found on ebay for only $40 including shipping)in the same amazing pink colour.

My mom used to just can crab apples whole. She would make a heavy syrup and put a cinnamon stick and some whole cloves in the jar. They are delicious...it's like apple sauce on a stick.

If you are ever planning on making apple sauce or tomato sauce you really need to invest in a food strainer. It makes your job so much easier! It looks something like this...


The steam juicer is also amazing. A friend of mine told me about how much she loved hers last year. Ever since then I'd been looking for one and I am so glad that I found one.