Recipe: Spiced Crab Apples (canning recipe)

SPICED CRAB APPLES

5 lbs crab apples
4 1/2 cups apple vinegar (5%)
3 3/4 cups water
7 1/2 cups sugar
4 tsp whole cloves
4 sticks cinnamon
Six 1/2-inch cubes of fresh ginger root

Remove blossom petals and wash apples, but leave 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 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process according to the recommendations below:

Pack Jar Size = Pints
Process Time - at Altitudes of:
20 minutes - 0 - 1,000 ft -
25 minutes - 3,000 - 1,001 ft
30 minutes - 3,001 - 6,000 ft
Above 6,000 ft - 35 minutes

Yield: about 9 pints
Source: USDA Extension Service