Extension > Food > Food Safety > Preserving and preparing > Fruits > Canning spiced crab apples
Canning spiced crab apples
Ingredients
- 5 lb. crab apples
- 4½ cups apple vinegar (5%)
- 3¾ cups water
- 7½ cups sugar
- 4 tsp. whole cloves
- 4 sticks cinnamon
- Six ½ inch cubes of fresh ginger root
Yield: About 9 pints
Procedure
- Remove blossom petals and wash apples, leaving stems attached.
- Puncture the skin of each apple four times with an ice pick or toothpick.
- Mix vinegar, water, and sugar and bring to a boil.
- Add spices tied in a spice bag or cheesecloth.
- Using a blancher basket or sieve, immerse 1/3 of the apples at a time in the boiling vinegar/syrup solution for 2 minutes.
- Place cooked apples and spice bag in a clean 1- or 2-gallon crock and add hot syrup.
- Cover and let stand overnight.
- Remove spice bag, drain syrup into a large saucepan, and reheat to boiling.
- Fill pint jars with apples and hot syrup, leaving ½ inch headspace.
- Adjust lids and process.
Recommended process
- Boiling-water bath
- Half-pints or pints – 25 minutes
Revised by Deb Botzek-Linn, University of Minnesota Extension educator, 2010.
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