Have you ever eaten a small apple that was a bit too sour? Chances are you have eaten a crab apple without even knowing it. In this post I will share everything you need to know about what a crabapple is.
What Is A Crabapple
It turns out the crabapple is not a specific type of apple, rather it is based on the size of any type of apple. Crabapples are small underdeveloped apples with the size of about 5 centimeters or 2 inches in width. Any apple under this size is technically considered a crabapple!
Crab apples belong to the Rosaceae apple family, which is the same family that all apples are from. Within the Rosaceae apple family, there are crab apples of the genus called Malus and from there, there are about 42-55 different hybrids known today.
Where can you find these apples
These apples follow the typical apple seasons by blossoming in spring, bearing fruit in late summer / fall which lasts until winter. Crab apples are grown in the Northern Hemisphere, and are native to North America and Asia.
You can really find crab apples almost anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, you can find them in parks, woods, neighborhoods, hiking trails, old orchards and many more different places.
They can really grow just about anywhere! Crab apples are the wild version of the apples you see in the supermarket.
What does a crabapple look like
Crab Apples are red and greenish in color with red indicating the ripeness of the fruit. The more red you see the more ripe the apple is, and the more green the more unripe and thus bitter the apple will be.
Keep an eye out for this small red apple tree during the apple season around late summer to early winter.
The trees are medium-sized trees with tons of branches, and thick foliage, and the green leaves are oval shaped with ridged edges. Look out for a tree that is anywhere from 10 – 30 feet tall and almost looks like a bush.
Are crab apples poisonous
Crab apples often carry a negative connotation about their taste, and begs the question if they are safe to eat. Crab apples are completely safe to eat, and there are no known toxic look-alikes.
This might be surprising to some people, but the truth is crab apples are just small sized apples that grow in the wild.
Like any apple the seeds are the only part that are considered dangerous with the cyanide inside the seeds. But the level is low enough that anyone can still eat the core without any negative effects. In fact the apple core is actually the healthiest part of the entire apple.
What does a crabapple taste like
Crab apples are notorious for their bitter taste, however that is not always the case. In general, crab apples are low sweetness, very high tartness, medium crisp, and low juiciness. Some crab apples might taste a bit too bitter / tarty but you can definitely find ones that are enjoyable to eat.
Do not discount all crab apples if you have one bad experience, because chances are you just found a bad apple.
Since these apples are small in size they make great snack food. If you are eating these apples straight from the tree, then taste one before harvesting more for later. The high tartness actually makes this apple work well with cooking, same with the low juiciness.
What can you make with crab apples
Surprisingly, crab apples can be used in many different recipes. Anything from jellies, preserves, cider, apple butter, apple sauce, pies and much more!
Here are some of my favorite recipes / things to make with crab apples.
Fermented Apple Cider – Link here
Since crab apples have lots of flavor, low sweetness it works out great for fermented ciders. You can easily add in more sweeteners and counteract the high acidity.
Summary
Crab apples are the wild version of the apples you see in the supermarkets, they are small in size and have way more tart than the typical apple. Yet, they are completely safe to eat, and you can make many different things with these apples. Let me know what you think about crab apples!
