In the Kitchen with Bev: Crab apples — Embrace the weird

By Bev Eskew

Owner/Chef, Spade & Spatula-Ca. Gastropub

Around this time of year, when the Halloween decorations slowly start to creep their way onto store shelves and signs of my favorite season stir butterflies of excitement in my belly still full of ceviche and watermelon, I start fantasizing about fall leaves and apple picking in Oak Glen.

Then, I catch myself – “it’s too early,” “don’t be weird,” “just wait a while” – but then, I catch a phantom whiff of pumpkin spice on the hot summer breeze and I’m reminded that I have planning to do, I am weird and there is one, seemingly out of place product of mother nature that comes to ripen mid-summer, maybe to remind us that maybe nothing is out of place and everything is just right on time.

I’m sure you’ve heard of a feral cat before, but how about a feral apple? You know, the wild one, the outcast, the loner, the reject. If you’ve ever spotted a really small tree with teeny, tiny apples and wondered what was wrong with that poor tree and what the heck could anyone do with those apples, congratulations, you’ve likely found a crab apple tree.

The Wild Apple – Malus coronaria (sweet crab apple), Peraphyllump ramosissimum (the ones that grow here in our mountains), also known as a Feral Apple or a Wild Crab Apple – is the only apple variety native to North America. They are smaller, typically a bit less sweet than other store-bought varieties and not great for direct eating, but are still a wonderful culinary treat, as long as you don’t mind a minor increase in workload and patience.

Before leaving them to the birds, trash pandas or compost heap, let me share a recipe that may make you think twice about passing them by. I invite you to slow down with me a bit, take a deep breath and enjoy the journey as we explore this misfit fall recipe in the middle of summer.

Get inspired early, plan ahead and get a little weird, like this apple! You’re welcome!

Crab Apple Butter

Yield: 1 quart

Prep Time: about 2 hours

Crab apples – 4 lbs, cored and quartered

Water – 1 cup

Sugar – 3 ½ cups

Oranges – 2, zest and juice

Cinnamon – 1 tsp

Nutmeg – 1/3 tsp

Allspice – 1/3 tsp

1. Wash and core apples. Tip: While cutting and coring apples, have a bowl of water to the side to place cut apples in to prevent oxidation.
2. Place apples and water in a medium-sized pot and cook on medium/low heat, stirring every minute or so, until cooked through and very mushy.
3. Remove from heat and blend using an immersion blender.
4. Strain through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a separate smaller pot, pushing the apples with the back of a spoon or rubber spatula to create pulp and remove fibrous materials.
5. Add sugar, warm spices, orange juice and zest to a heavy-bottomed pot or slow-cooker and cook on very low for about 2 hours, stirring often, until a deep brown color.
6. Remove from heat and place into airtight containers of choice.
7. Pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for embracing the weird and now you are also one giant step closer to fall.

Special thanks go to Mikaela and Yonathan Kaufman of Cold Creek Organic Orchards located in the beautiful Waterman Canyon area of the San Bernardino Mountains for growing the wonderful crab apples used in this recipe, for preserving our native landscape, native plants and seeds and therefore preserving our food culture for generations to come. Thanks for the inspiration!