Runny Grobbles
I have a very productive Crab Apple tree in my front garden. Most years I make things from the fruit. This year, I think I have finally worked out the optimal low effort to best result ratio system, taking account of my particular foibles as a cook (impatient, clumsy, prone to tweaking recipes). So I'm recording it here so I don't get tempted to make crab apple jelly next year.
The most important thing is NOT TO TRY TO MAKE CRAB APPLE JELLY.
It never ever ever comes out clear, even when I absolutely do not squeeze the bag. And spooning the juice in to the jelly bag is really not the job for an impatient rather clumsy person like me. I got through 6 bowls and as many rinsings of the jelly bag this year, burned myself many times and cursed like a navvy, and it still wasn't clear. And, while boiling it up with a dodd of butter cuts down the scum a lot, you still need to be really meticulous about getting rid of all the tiny flecks of scum, otherwise they disperse through the jelly and the whole things looks horrible. And I am not meticulous about physical stuff.
So, rule one, DO NOT TRY TO MAKE CRAB APPLE JELLY.
Instead, wash fruit, pick off leaves but don't bother picking off stalks (employ kids, if agreeable, as they enjoy it and are eagle-eyed). Chop each apple in half around the middle. This allows you to spot the ones with worms. Don't worry about the ones that have gone a bit shiny looking inside, they are fine.
DO NOT ADD JAPONICA FRUIT. Yes, they are edible, and yes they grow in profusion, but they make it much more bitter and then you just end up adding more sugar and there's still a bitter taste. Leave them to rot on the ground (or put them in the compost heap).
Boil them up with less water than jam recipes usually say - less than covering them all, perhaps half full of water? Boil until just mushy.
Line a sieve with a piece of muslin. Press the cooked fruit through the sieve with a spoon into a bowl. This bit is hard on the arms/hands, so don't do this on a bad arms day.
Roughly measure how many pints of puree you have as you use a jug to ladle it back into the pan, and reheat. Note down the total.
First, make RUNNY GROBBLES:
Add sufficient sugar to make it taste just sweet enough to eat (it gets sweeter as it cools). Make a note of how much sugar you have added. Pour off the majority at this stage - this is the form of crab apples that we eat the most of (the kids love it for breakfast. LB mixes his with museli instead of milk). It keeps in the fridge for about 10 days, and freezes well.
Then, make CRAB APPLE JAM (technically I think it is a butter or a cheese, rather than a jam, but 'jam' is more instantly comprehensible)
Add more sugar. Recipes suggest you need approximately a pound of sugar to each pint of liquid, but I find it still sets okay with about 3/4 lb of sugar to a pint. And it's very approximate by now anyway, because you've taken some of the fruit out already (the very idea of this sort of calculation makes my brain hurt, so I just wave my hands at the problem and it goes away)
Boil until setting point is reached. If you are a clumsy person doing it, sterilise the jars by putting them in very hot water in the sink. If you are deft, sterilise them in the oven. Put most of the liquid in the jars, leaving no more than an inch or so in the bottom of the pan.
Finally, if you can be bothered, make MOCK MEMBRILLO
Add even more sugar (but not vastly more). Boil up hard until it thickens. You don't have to stir it the whole time to start with, but once it starts thickening you need to watch it like a hawk and stir constantly. Keep your nerve and keep boiling. If you are using a traditional preserving pan which is much bigger than a cooker ring, move the pan around so that different bits get the heat. When it has changed to deep orange-y pink and you think it will burn if you cook it any more, keep cooking and stirring. It needs to end up very 'dry' looking - the consistency of marzipan almost. Then pour it into a tin or dish and leave to cool. Chop into pieces when cooled and eat as sweets or with cheese.
This is way less effort than crab apple jelly, gets you three products rather than just one, tastes just as nice, if not nicer, is much less wasteful of fruit, is a more useful contribution to our diets and doesn't stress me out. Just step right away from the crab apple jelly, Menthe Reglisse.
The most important thing is NOT TO TRY TO MAKE CRAB APPLE JELLY.
It never ever ever comes out clear, even when I absolutely do not squeeze the bag. And spooning the juice in to the jelly bag is really not the job for an impatient rather clumsy person like me. I got through 6 bowls and as many rinsings of the jelly bag this year, burned myself many times and cursed like a navvy, and it still wasn't clear. And, while boiling it up with a dodd of butter cuts down the scum a lot, you still need to be really meticulous about getting rid of all the tiny flecks of scum, otherwise they disperse through the jelly and the whole things looks horrible. And I am not meticulous about physical stuff.
So, rule one, DO NOT TRY TO MAKE CRAB APPLE JELLY.
Instead, wash fruit, pick off leaves but don't bother picking off stalks (employ kids, if agreeable, as they enjoy it and are eagle-eyed). Chop each apple in half around the middle. This allows you to spot the ones with worms. Don't worry about the ones that have gone a bit shiny looking inside, they are fine.
DO NOT ADD JAPONICA FRUIT. Yes, they are edible, and yes they grow in profusion, but they make it much more bitter and then you just end up adding more sugar and there's still a bitter taste. Leave them to rot on the ground (or put them in the compost heap).
Boil them up with less water than jam recipes usually say - less than covering them all, perhaps half full of water? Boil until just mushy.
Line a sieve with a piece of muslin. Press the cooked fruit through the sieve with a spoon into a bowl. This bit is hard on the arms/hands, so don't do this on a bad arms day.
Roughly measure how many pints of puree you have as you use a jug to ladle it back into the pan, and reheat. Note down the total.
First, make RUNNY GROBBLES:
Add sufficient sugar to make it taste just sweet enough to eat (it gets sweeter as it cools). Make a note of how much sugar you have added. Pour off the majority at this stage - this is the form of crab apples that we eat the most of (the kids love it for breakfast. LB mixes his with museli instead of milk). It keeps in the fridge for about 10 days, and freezes well.
Then, make CRAB APPLE JAM (technically I think it is a butter or a cheese, rather than a jam, but 'jam' is more instantly comprehensible)
Add more sugar. Recipes suggest you need approximately a pound of sugar to each pint of liquid, but I find it still sets okay with about 3/4 lb of sugar to a pint. And it's very approximate by now anyway, because you've taken some of the fruit out already (the very idea of this sort of calculation makes my brain hurt, so I just wave my hands at the problem and it goes away)
Boil until setting point is reached. If you are a clumsy person doing it, sterilise the jars by putting them in very hot water in the sink. If you are deft, sterilise them in the oven. Put most of the liquid in the jars, leaving no more than an inch or so in the bottom of the pan.
Finally, if you can be bothered, make MOCK MEMBRILLO
Add even more sugar (but not vastly more). Boil up hard until it thickens. You don't have to stir it the whole time to start with, but once it starts thickening you need to watch it like a hawk and stir constantly. Keep your nerve and keep boiling. If you are using a traditional preserving pan which is much bigger than a cooker ring, move the pan around so that different bits get the heat. When it has changed to deep orange-y pink and you think it will burn if you cook it any more, keep cooking and stirring. It needs to end up very 'dry' looking - the consistency of marzipan almost. Then pour it into a tin or dish and leave to cool. Chop into pieces when cooled and eat as sweets or with cheese.
This is way less effort than crab apple jelly, gets you three products rather than just one, tastes just as nice, if not nicer, is much less wasteful of fruit, is a more useful contribution to our diets and doesn't stress me out. Just step right away from the crab apple jelly, Menthe Reglisse.