Shakin & Bakin Foodie Blog

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Crab apples are small compared to normal baking and eating apples and due to their 'sour' taste, they are best used for making jams, jellies and chutneys. The following recipe is the one I like to use when canning crab apple jelly.

This recipe is easy to prepare, but a little time consuming. You will need to use a jelly bag to strain the juice from your pulp.

Crab Apple Jelly Recipe

5 pounds crab apples (whole, only stems removed)
5 cups water
1 (1.75 ounces) box Sure-Jell (fruit pectin)
8 cups granulated sugar

Wash and de-stem your crab apples and leave them whole. Do not peel or core them. You want to pick out only ripe and undamaged fruits for this recipe. Place your whole fruits into a large stock pot and pour in the 5 cups of water. Cover the stock pot and simmer on medium heat for about 17 minutes. Remove lid and crush the apples with a potato masher. Replace the lid and simmer on medium heat for an additional 7-8 minutes.

Place cooked apples in a jelly bag and allow all of the juice to drain out. I was able to get 6 1/2 cups of juice out of mine. You want to end up with 6 1/2 to 7 cups of juice.

In a large saucepan, combine the fruit pectin with apple juice over medium to high heat and bring to a full boil, stirring as necessary. Stir in the granulated sugar and boil for an additional one minute. Remove pan from heat and skim off any foam that has developed.

Ladle into into hot, clean, sterilized jelly jars, leaving a 1/2" head space. Wipe the rims and seal the jars. Process the jars in your water bath canner for 10 minutes or according to the time recommended in your instructional manual.