Alaska News

Crabapples are an untapped resource for urban foragers

Attention foragers: Crabapple trees are ripe for the picking.

What these edible orbs of red and gold lack in size they make up for with their abundance. Within one block of my apartment are at least a half-dozen trees dripping with fruit. Eaten raw, they explode with tartness. Unlike the juicy and sweet commercially grown McIntosh or Pink Lady varieties, crabapples are always smaller than 2 inches and range in flavor from slightly sweet to very sour. And since they take more time and effort to preserve, they are less popular to pick. Thus urban crabapples often end up littering the streets after falling off the trees or left as a winter treat for moose and cedar waxwings.

I think it's time for a crabapple comeback.

On a rainy evening this week, inspired by two full bags given by a friend, I commenced Project Crabapple. When it comes to cooking with crabapples, the sky is the limit. I've experimented with flavor combinations from ginger and chocolate to cranberries and jalapenos. Crapapples are delicious in both sweet and savory recipes, from jams to BBQ sauce to cocktails.

Local dietician and self-described "fanatical canner" Jennifer McGovern is a big crabapple fan. For sauces or jellies she recommends cooking them whole in a saucepan, then straining out the cores, seeds and stems. If you want to use them fresh in cakes or baked goods, she says, "I've discovered it's easiest to cut the apple off the core rather than removing the core from the apple." To do this, use a chef's knife and stand the apple on the blossom end, cutting as close to the core as possible. After the first cut, place the cut side down and repeat all the way around, leaving behind a "square" core.

Here are some ideas to spark your imagination. Follow the UAF Cooperative Extension instructions if you want to can your goodies to eat throughout the winter or give as edible gifts.

1. Crabapple sauce: Your basic applesauce. Cook apples down and strain (or use a food mill or KitchenAid attachment.) Play around with using orange juice, maple syrup or agave nectar as sweeteners instead of refined sugar.

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2. Spiced crabapple-cranberry butter: Apple butter starts with applesauce. Cook low in a slow cooker with high bush cranberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and sugar (optional) to create a beautiful wine-colored preserve. The sauce will reduce and become thick, hence the comparison to butter. Use as a sauce on pork roasts, in sandwiches or wraps, or spread generously on your morning toast.

3. Crabapple fruit roll-up: While fruit leather is generally made in a dehydrator, you can make it at home in your oven too. Spread your applesauce thinly (1/4 inch high) on a baking sheet. Preheat at 150 degrees and cook until the leather is completely dry, which takes about four hours. Cut into strips with a pizza cutter and roll up for fun.

4. Crabapple pepper jelly: Make a batch of jalapeno- or habanero-crabapple jelly to pair with goat cheese on crackers, jam thumbprint cookies or use as an accompaniment to chicken or pork. The high sugar content in jelly pairs well with the spicy peppers and tart crabapples.

5. Dark chocolate crabapple cake: Chocolate makes everything better, right? Enjoy Jennifer McGovern's recipe below, of which she says, "I love this cake. I dream of this cake." Pro tip: Make the cake in bulk batches (6-8 cakes at a time), quarter them, wrap them in plastic wrap and then foil and freeze them. McGovern says, "We have a stash in the freezer and ration it all winter! I'm looking forward to making it this year and restocking our freezer!"

6. Pickled crabapples: In my kitchen, nothing is off-limits for being pickled. Crabapples are no exception. To do this, create a hot and syrupy brine with vinegar, water, sugar and spices, then add whole cleaned crabapples.

7. Crabapple liqueur: The easiest and fastest way to use crabapples. Pour some inexpensive vodka over a jar of cleaned and halved crabapples and let it sit for two weeks in a dark pantry. Add sugar if you want it to be a stronger liqueur (as opposed to an infused vodka).

8. Crabapple cocktail: Use your homemade liqueur/infused vodka to make a crabapple martini or Cosmo while hosting your next party.

9. Candied crabapples: Alaska chef Kirsten Dixon has a recipe for candied caramel crabapples, a popular Chinese street food in the fall. Whole crabapples are dipped in homemade caramel and rolled in a pecan-pistachio-sea salt mix.

Dark chocolate crabapple cake

Recipe by Jennifer McGovern (Follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @hungryakgirl)

2 cups sugar

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3 large eggs

1/2 cup water

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons dark cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

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1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups crabapples, cored and coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Using an electric or hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in water carefully as it may spill over.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda and spices. Add slowly to butter-sugar mixture and blend well. Add vanilla. Fold in chocolate chips and crabapples and stir to combine.

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Spoon into well-greased and floured Bundt pan.

Bake one hour or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; some melted chocolate might stick to tester.

Shannon Kuhn

Shannon Kuhn lives in Anchorage and is co-founder of the Anchorage Food Mosaic. She writes about food and culture and can be reached at play@alaskadispatch.com (subject line: Shannon Kuhn).

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