Crabapple

[bobm]

I have 4 crabapple ( Prarie Fire ) trees that are loaded with fruits about a 1/3 the size of a cherry. Does anyone have any ideas as to what my wife can make with them ? Recipes ? Or a waste of time ?

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

I've heard that you can make pectin with it. I have one crabapple and I'm going to try making pectin next year.

 

[flowerbug]

they can be used but i suggest trying a small batch first to make sure you can adapt them. they are pretty much just small apples. you may need to process or filter them to get results you like. they can be very tart or not all that good, since like apple trees each tree can have different flavored apples when grown from seeds.

for pectin making they are best when still green, but probably will still be ok after more ripe since they do have more in them (more skin and core v.s. flesh).

ok, i looked up the specific variety mentioned and they are not spoken well of for cooking or making jams/jellies with. good wild animal/bird food.

 

[Zeedman]

I'm growing crab apples expressly for jelly, since their jelly is more colorful than that from most regular apples. However, I'm growing Dolgo, which is fairly large fruited. I looked up Prairie Fire, and agree with @flowerbug; it's chief value is as an ornamental. Which doesn't necessarily mean it can't be made into something, just that you might want to experiment with small batches before going all-out. If you decide to try, please update us with your results.

 

[flowerbug]

I'm growing crab apples expressly for jelly, since their jelly is more colorful than that from most regular apples. However, I'm growing Dolgo, which is fairly large fruited. I looked up Prairie Fire, and agree with @flowerbug; it's chief value is as an ornamental. Which doesn't necessarily mean it can't be made into something, just that you might want to experiment with small batches before going all-out. If you decide to try, please update us with your results.

the neighbor up the road has those crab apples and as of yet i've not been able to get any from him. i think someone else claims them. which is ok, at least they are being put to use.