crab apple paste

this year my crab apple tree (malus gorgeous) produced its largest yet crop of crabs and, because they looked so pretty on the tree, i was tempted to leave them on the tree well into the winter months..i did that last year though and many dropped to the ground and rotted so by the time i noticed there were only a few left..

in the past i've always used the fruit to make crab apple jelly but this year i didn't really want to make any more jelly..that's because i'd made a few, albeit small, quantities of different jellies in late summer with various mixes of blackberries, elderberries, apples and plums..having made quince paste a few days earlier the idea of using the crabs to make crab apple paste was just a natural progression..

crab apple paste

tea with hazel

ingredients

crab apples (mine weighed 1500 gms)

sugar

lemons

method

~ remove the crab apple stalks and wash well

~ place in a shallow baking tray with a couple of tablespoons of water, cover with foil, and bake at 160 deg c for an hour or until soft

~ puree the fruit in a mouli

~ measure the pulp and place in a large saucepan

~ for every cup of pulp add 3/4 cup of sugar and the juice of 1/2 a small lemon

~ place the saucepan over a diffuser and heat slowly until the sugar has dissolved then increase heat and cook stirring regularly until thick and the spoon leaves a trail on the bottom of the saucepan 

~ spoon the paste into a baking paper lined tin and leave to set for 24 hours

~ cut into squares and store in an airtight container or wrap pieces in baking paper strips and place in cellophane bags

comments:

~ i like quite a tangy paste but for a sweeter palate increase sugar to 1 cup per cup of pulp

~ the quantity of fruit i had made 16 generous pieces of crab apple paste which cost, excluding the cost of gas and electricity, about $0.03/piece

verdict:

i wasn't sure how the crab apple paste would turn out but it has a lovely colour and, even though i've only tasted a small piece, a delightfully tangy crab apple flavour..i plan on doing a cheese board with bread as part of dinner for my children tomorrow night so it'll be interesting to see how it's received by them..