We're talking about local apples this week, and we couldn't let the week pass without a mention of crab apples. Crab apples are the wild, cherry-sized fruit clustered on trees all over our neighborhood this time of year. The trees are prized for their hardiness and gorgeous flowers, but the fruit usually goes to waste. Have you ever tasted a raw crab apple? So sour it will make your mouth pucker and your eyes squeeze up!
But there is one very, very good use for crab apples that we've found, and it's ridiculously easy.
The one standard culinary use for crab apples is jelly. They are very high in pectin, so they easily gel into a thick, spicy, delicious jelly.
We didn't have enough fruit for jelly, though, and we refused to believe that was the only use for them. While researching baked apples and other ideas, we discovered a recipe for crab apples poached in wine.
• Get the original recipe:
Chardonnay Crab Apples Recipe at Recipe Tips
Now this sounded more promising! In fact, the idea was very appealing. We were having a guest to dinner, and we were already serving pesto with goat cheese and crackers, and sweet-tart apples seemed a good complement. The size of these apples was so good for appetizers, too; the stems were all still attached, like cherries, and they would make the perfect small bite.
We made quite a few tweaks to the original recipe, though. We added different spices and used a sweeter wine.
The result? Even better than we hoped. With less than ten minutes of work we had a bowl of poached red crab apples, much the sweeter for their simmer in wine and spices. They retained much of their original tartness but there was a new sweetness and a hint of cinnamon. They were much softer, too, like gelled applesauce lollipops. We ate them straight off the stems, eating the sweet flesh and leaving the rough cores with tiny seeds inside.
Here's our revised recipe. We really recommend this for fall parties, appetizers, and even dessert. These would be wonderful served with a sweet creamy cheese. They keep well, too.
Crab Apples Poached in Sweet Wine
makes 1 pound
1 pound cherry-sized crab apples, stems still attached.
1 cup sweet Riesling
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
5 whole cloves
Zest of 1 orange
Pinch salt
Wash the apples and set aside. Combine the wine, sugar, spices and salt. Bring to a simmer, stirring. When the sugar has completely dissolved, add the apples. Cover and turn to low. Simmer for 5 minutes, checking frequently near the end. Remove as the apples get tender - just before their skins start popping.
Put the apples and their juices in the fridge and let cool completely. They will keep for several days.
Related: Recipe: Tarte Aux Pommes
(Images: Faith Durand)
Does the variety of crab apple matter? How do you determine ripeness? I can think of quite a few people who would like their crab apples "stolen" before they make a mess on the ground.
view sally599's profile
I grew up in a really poor neighborhood and schoolkids used to eat crab apples grown at school because they were so hungry. They were super sour though. Hopefully they were quite nutritious for them.
view buda's profile
I grew up in Michigan and Connecticut, so you'd better believe I ate my fair share of crab apples. I cannot imagine them tasting good under any circumstance.
view popcorn.for.dinner's profile
I have come across many great recipes with wine, rum, or some other alcohol used in the process. My husband and I (and our families) being a non-drinkers, I usually skip these recipes, rather than seek out the alternative. However, I'd love to try this recipe, given the ultimate ease of it and what I think is a crab apple tree growing at our new house.
I've stood in front of the cooking wine section in grocery stores several times, but each time am confused; it always seems like only someone who drinks the real thing would know what to look for in the fake! Can you give me some pointers on how to seek out and find completely non-alcoholic (no, not even a hint) alternatives for recipes like this one?
Thanks so much!
-Erin
view Sprouted in the Kitchen's profile
For Erin, most cooking wines do have alcohol, they just have salt added so they are preserved and also undrinkable. If you want a non-alcoholic wine you're going to have to go out of the way, and most likely buy it on the net. I know that Graham Kerr is a great proponent of this type of wine and it will cost at least as much as the real thing because it's made from that. Alternatively I've seen things like apple juice for the wine but you won't get the same flavor and it will usually be too sweet.
view sally599's profile
Yes to everything sally599 said, re: the wine.
For this recipe, I do think that something sweet would work. I used a very sweet Riesling; the apples need the sweetness. You could try a white grape juice cocktail (make sure it has no added sugar) and cut the sugar down to 1/4 cup.
Also, I think apple cider with an extra stick of cinnamon could work well.
view faith's profile
Here is a non-alcoholic wine site.
http://www.arielvineyards.com/wines.html
There is no Riesling but it may help you in the future.
view sally599's profile