Crab Apple Jelly
The Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge #8
"It’s harvest time in the northern hemisphere, and springtime in the southern hemisphere. Make something either to preserve that produce that you’re harvesting, or replenish your supply after the winter! Fruit and vegetable jams, jellies, and preserves are the focus!"
Northern Illinois in late August and early September has seen some sudden rainstorms with very strong winds During one of these storms, the crab apple tree in front of our church building was toppled. While accompanying my husband, who is the congregational president, to look at the damage, I noticed the crab apples had ripened to a brilliant glossy red.
I had toyed with the idea of making a historic preserve with crab apples for a long time but it kept getting pushed to the back of my "to do" list. All of a sudden, it was now or never. The organic supplies were lying on the ground in front of me in easy reach (our congregation does not spray the tree). There would be no awkward soliciting someone on the block to let me come and pick the crab apples in their front yard.
"Waste not, want not," ran through my mind as I set off the next day to harvest. It took me between 3 and 4 hours to pick the crab apples and then pick out all the bits of leaves and woody twigs that remained attached to the stems. The stems were nearly impossible to remove and I decided not to waste any more time. Foraging isn't always easy work; the things that are easier to harvest and that have a greater yield tend to become commercial. Black walnuts and hickory nuts are tedious picky nuts and have a small yield when compared to the amount of work needed. The tiniest crab apples don't release easily from the twig and have a small amount of flesh.
All in all, I picked 12.5 pounds. The first thing I did was clean the harvest by rinsing several times and then soaking. The last little bits of leaf floated to the surface, as did any little apple grubs. I know, that turned some of your stomachs, didn't it?
And now it was off to do some research.
The wild crab apple tree was hailed as the only apple tree native to North America. According the the American Farmer's Encylopedia, it could be found on both sides of the mountains, throughout the United States, except for Maine, Vermont, and upper New Hampshire, but "appears to be most multiplied in the Middle States, and especially in the back parts of Pennsylvania and of Virginia." The North American Sylva notes that the wild crab abounded in the lower portion of the Oregon territory. A letter in the New England Farmer mentions its prolific nature in Missouri and Illinois:
"In fact, the Crab Tree abounds all over the country - What is called the American
bottom on the Illinois side of the Mississippi river is literally covered with this tree.
They form natural orchards for miles - grow thick, close, and are from 15 to 30 feet high.
They grow on all low flat grounds, and in the bottoms. You might gather thousands of
bushels within the moderate distance of a few miles on the American bottom."
 |
River Crab Apple, The North American Sylva
|
The Siberian Crab Apple hails from Asia; it was introduced to England in 1758. From there it made its way over to North America. The Trees of America: Native and Foreign, lists two varieties of Siberian Crabs: Pyrus prunifolia (the plum leafed Apple tree), which produces a yellow fruit, and Pyrus baccata (the Berry like fruited Apple), which is the parent of the Cherry Crab," whose fruit are about the size and color of a large cherry.
All sources are united in the Crab Apple's uses - primarily ornamental, although the fruit can be used for preserves. The Second Annual Report of the Missouri State Board of Agriculture comments that "The soldiers in our frontier forts, and our pioneer settlers, have sometimes in their craving for fruit eaten even the crab apple, and found some varieties of it even palatable." Emerson notes that "some farmers make cider of them, which is said to be excellent; they make very fine sweet-meats also, by the addition of a large quantity of sugar."
Picking a Recipe
I found a number of recipes that candied or pickled the crab apples. Many of these seemed to be referring to a larger fruit than I had, since the instructions said to peel the crab apples and quarter them. For example, in Directions for Cookery, Miss Leslie advises us to simmer red Siberian crab apples slowly, then take them out and peel and core them; "extract the cores carefully with a small knife, so as not to break the apples." The very thought made me shudder. There was no way I was going to try and peel the tiny fruits I had; in fact, I found it nearly impossible to separate them from their stems.
I selected Crab Apple Jelly From Breakfast, Dinner, and Tea, Viewed Classically, Poetically, and Practically. You can find the recipes on pp. 197-8
Crab Apple Jelly is made after the preceding rule
(note: so we go back to the preceding recipe for Apple Jelly)
Apple Jelly - After paring and coring your apples, nearly cover them with water,
and stew until they are soft, then mash them, turning the whole into a thick
strainer; squeeze out the juice, measure it, and strain it through another cloth.
To every pint, add a pound of white sugar; stir it well together and put it over a
fire to simmer or boil slowly. (Here I will omit instructions to add saffron to
color the jelly yellow). After the later has boiled slowly 15 or twenty minutes
try it by dropping a spoonful of it into a cup of cold water; if it settles on the bottom
it is a token that it is sufficiently cooked.
http://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.rsmcye?urlappend=%3Bseq=215
I admit to being a Nervous Nelly when preparing a new historic recipe that is outside my comfort zone. Jams and jellies I am familiar with, crab apples, not so much. I decided to cross reference Stalking the Wild Asparagus, by Euell Gibbons. Most of us today are unfamiliar with foraged foods; our church custodian was convinced I had poisoned myself when I bit into one of the crab apples.
Gibbons mentions three types of crab apples that can be made into jellies. According to him, the tiniest fruited apples "make(s) a jelly that is delight to the eyes and a joy to the taste. The jelly is made just like the other apple jellies, but this is the aristocrat of them all. " And the best of all possible news- they can be cooked whole (thank goodness). Since you want the jelly to be clear and unclouded, he says the tiny apples should not be mashed or even stirred. You simply strain off the cooking liquid and use that. (Thank you so much, Mr. Gibbons!)
Modern Cooking
Rinse the crab apples several times in cold water, letting them soak. Skim off any grubs that float as well as bits of leaves, then strain the rinse water off.
Place the crab apples in a large heavy bottom pot. Just barely cover them with water and turn the heat on medium low. Watch the apples carefully and gently stir (since they are still very firm and will not mash). Remove any grubs that float out. (Seriously, cooking is not for the squeamish!)
Turn up the heat to bring the water to a slow boil, then turn it down to just maintain the boil. After 20-25 minutes of boiling (check to see if the apples are mushy, but be careful), remove from the heat. Strain off the cooking liquid (I used a large glass measuring cup to make the next step easier). At this point you may either discard the cooked crab apples or reserve them to make crab apple marmalade or cheese.
Strain the liquid through cheesecloth into another container to be sure all there are no solids remaining.
Measure 4 cups of liquid into a large heavy bottomed sauce pan. I found a 4-quart pot to be about right, if not even a bit small. The jelly will boil up during cooking. Add 4 cups of white sugar. Apples are naturally high in pectin, so no supplemental aids (such as Sure Gel) are needed.
Stir to dissolve the sugar, and bring to a boil. Let it boil 20 minutes or more until it reaches jelling temperature. You don't need to hover over the pot, but you do want to stir it down occasionally so it doesn't boil over into a sticky mess. There are many ways to test to the jell point - I finally learned how to do the spoon test this go round. The National Center for Home Food Preservation provided instructions for all three methods in use: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_07/jelly_point.html
Once the jell point is reached, carefully ladle your hot jelly into prepared canning jars. Suggested processing time is 5 minutes in a hot water bath.
Yield: 4 cups and a bit extra.
 |
| I produced approximately 13 half-pint jars of crab apple jelly |
The Recipe: Crab Apple Jelly, from Breakfast, Dinner, and Tea, Viewed Classically, Poetically, and Practically.
The Date, Region: 1860, New York
How Did You Make It: see above
Time to Complete: Half a day to harvest the crab apples and pick them clean (and let's be honest, after all that time in the sun I went home bushed. There was a lot of stooping involved since this was a wind-felled tree.) I used a 12-quart pot to cook HALF the apples (leaving a good amount of head room), so the cooking time took longer than 20 minutes (skimming and bringing the water to a boil took a good amount of time). Each batch of jelly took about 40 minutes. Euell Gibbons warns to not process jelly in larger than 4 cup batches because it can affect the jelling process. So, three batches of jelly, for about 3 hours total.
Total Cost: Cheap. The most expensive item was new half-pint jelly jars because I needed more. Other than that, a bag of sugar.
How Successful Was It? I was worried, considering how tannic crab apples are, but the jelly is delicious. It has a certain wild tang about it that is difficult to describe. On the other hand, my daughter is not a fan.
How Accurate Is It? I didn't mash up the crab apples and double strain them. There is virtually no juice in the apples themselves, so I didn't have a problem with the method I selected.
Bibliography
Breakfast, Dinner, and Tea Viewed Classically, Poetically, and Practically. New York: D. Apleton and Co.; 1860
Browne, D. J. The Trees of North America: Native and Foreign. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1846
Emerson, Gouveneur, American Farmer's Encylopedia. New York: A. O. Moore Agricultural Book Publisher, 1858
Gibbons, Euell. Stalking the Wild Asparagus. New York: David McKay Co, Inc, 1962.
Kenrick, William. The New American Orchardist. Boston: Russel, Odiorne, and Co. 1833
Leslie, Eliza. Directions for Cookery in its Various Branches. 20th ed. Philadelphia: Carey and Hart. 1844.
Michaux, F. Andrew and Nuttall, Thomas, The North American Sylva, vol 5. Philadelphia: Robert P. Smith, 1855
"Productions of Missouri and Illinois" in The New England Farmer, July 8, 1825.
Second Annual Report of the Missouri State Board of Agriculture , 1866.
Comments
Post a Comment