In my scrounging around for any crabapples I can find this season, I got a few of these very young, green ones. I have recently learned that young fruit has the advantage of having smaller seeds and don’t need much preparation, other than cooking.
Coincidentally, I came across a recipe for pickled young crabapples by the Forager Chef whose recipes are always excellent, so I followed his recipe which you can find here. I made it according to his instructions, except that as I had no orange zest I used sumac water in place of that and the water called for. I also only had enough apples for half the recipe which made two jars. If you read his post, you will see that he serves these crabapples with a very elegant pork dish garnished with purslane. If you don’t eat pork, these little pickled apples are tasty enough to be eaten on their own, and as he points out you can use the stem as a little handle.
Along the Grapevine 
August 13, 2014 at 9:29 pm
Hi Hilda, Interesting to see this about green crabapples as we were at a great farmer’s market a few weeks ago and one stall had green apricots! I asked how they are used and he said that some people like to pickle them…which was a new thing for me. Did not give into my usual canning compulsion at that point but found your post a nice complement to that… Kate
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August 14, 2014 at 2:24 am
I almost can how delicious these pickled crabapples can be. I use grated apples in all my pickles.
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August 16, 2014 at 2:21 am
I remember picking crabapples when I was a little girl – my mother always made crabapple jelly. So excited to see your pickled crabapples and now I’ll be on the watch for a crabapple tree.
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August 20, 2014 at 11:44 pm
We have crabapples growing around my Aunties yard, this looks like a great way to use the apples 🙂
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August 21, 2014 at 2:50 am
I have several recipes for crabapples – they have become one of my favourite fruits for cooking with. I also have sea buckthorn which in Kz was called kalini, the Russian name. It is another favourite but I am still working on recipes for it. It is pretty new here in North America.
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August 25, 2014 at 1:45 pm
I am tingling with delight that we discovered eachother. Your recipes are wonderful and I’d love to eat your food. Now following you 🙂 Need to devote some time catching up with all your posts past.
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August 25, 2014 at 2:04 pm
Thanks so much. The feeling is mutual. I look forward to exploring your blog too.
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