I have always enjoyed crabapples during late summer early fall. Sure, they can be a little tart, but they are a good snack when you’re out exploring in the woods and happen upon them.
Crabapples are a wild apple variety that is typically smaller than those sold in grocery stores. They’re usually less than 2 inches in diameter.
Although a single crabapple doesn’t provide much to eat on its own, a tree full of them can provide plenty because crabapples grow abundantly in clusters. Foragers can harvest enough apples from one tree to make apple butter, apple sauce, jelly, cider, chutney or pie.
Crab apples are a beloved autumn treat found growing in many common locations like hedgerows, fields, woodlands and gardens. While crab apple trees are often considered more ornamental, valued for their beautiful spring blossoms that decorate parks, gardens and roadsides, their fruit is also edible and useful in a variety of recipes. But when are crab apples actually ready for picking? Identifying the perfect time to harvest ensures you collect these tiny wild apples at peak flavor and ripeness.
What are Crab Apples?
Crab apples belong to the genus Malus, which also includes domesticated apples. However, crab apples are much smaller, often no bigger than 2 inches wide. While some species produce pleasant tasting fruit, crab apples tend to be more tart and astringent compared to grocery store apples due to their higher acidity.
There are around 25 different crab apple species found across North America thriving in temperate regions Crab apples are commonly used ornamentally in landscapes, parks, along streets and in gardens. In the wild, crab apple trees grow in woodland edges, thickets, fencerows, and abandoned homesteads Their flowering period is spring, with fruits maturing in late summer through fall, typically from late September to end November.
When Are Crab Apples Ready to Pick?
Determining when crab apples are ripe enough for picking requires checking a few indicators
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Color Change: Ripe crab apples undergo a color shift from green to yellow, orange, red or mottled. Color varies depending on crab apple species.
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Fruit Softening: Mature crab apples feel slightly soft and yield to gentle pressure when ripe.
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Seed Color: Cutting open fruits reveals if seeds are brown, signaling ripeness.
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Taste: Sample taste. Ripe crab apples taste mildly sweet with a tart, astringent edge.
Ideally, allow crab apples to hang on the tree as long as possible. Flavor continues improving with freezing nighttime temperatures. Harvest before heavy frosts ruin the fruits.
Identifying Ripe Crab Apples on the Tree
Scanning trees helps spot ready-for-picking crab apples. Watch for:
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Color: Look for pops of color indicating ripe fruit. Red and yellow crab apples are most obvious.
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Location: Crab apples grow on short spur branches near trunks, not like regular apples. Check these fruiting spurs on small limbs.
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Size/Shape: Ripe crab apples are round or oval. Green, immature fruits are smaller and oblong.
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Ease of Removal: Give fruit a gentle twist. If ready, ripe crab apples easily separate from twigs.
What Not to Pick
Avoid harvesting crab apples that are:
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Still green – Unripe, too tart. Leave to ripen more.
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Shriveled or mushy – Indicates rotting or overripe fruit.
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Marked with spots or blemishes – Damaged, diseased fruit should not be collected.
Only pick plump, firm crab apples displaying their ripe color. Discard any punctured, leaking juices, or feeling light and hollow.
Storing the Crab Apple Harvest
Enjoy freshly picked crab apples immediately. They also store well chilled for several weeks:
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Short Term: Refrigerate ripe crab apples in a perforated bag for 1-2 weeks maximum. Regularly remove any spoiled fruit.
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Long Term: Freeze crab apples to store for months. Rinse, pat dry, spread in a single layer on a sheet pan and freeze. Once hard, transfer to freezer bags.
Using Crab Apples
The high pectin content of crab apples makes them perfect for:
- Jams, jellies and preserves
- Applesauce
- Juices and cider
- Vinegars
- Pies, pastries and baked goods
Remove seeds before eating raw. Otherwise, seeds can be safely consumed in cooked recipes. Crab apples pair deliciously with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Add sugar or honey to balance their natural tartness.
Where to Find and Forage for Crab Apples
Keep an eye out for crab apple trees in these common urban and rural locations:
- Hedgerows
- Along roadsides
- In parks and gardens
- Near old homesteads
- Woodland edges
- Overgrown fields
Note blossoming trees in spring to identify potential harvest spots, then revisit once fruits develop. Many older neighborhoods also contain ornamental crab apple trees worth scouting, just be sure to only pick from trees you have permission to harvest.
Identifying Crab Apples vs. Lookalikes
Two trees produce fruits resembling crab apples but are different species:
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Hawthorns: Similar small, apple-like fruit and thorns. But hawthorn thorns are longer with no buds. Their fruit can be dry and mealy.
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Wild Plums: Small, oval, yellowish/reddish fruit with single pit and waxy white “bloom” coating. Lenticels on branches are often horizontal.
Neither hawthorn nor plum fruits are toxic. But correctly identifying crab apples guarantees better flavor. Bring an expert forager along if new to harvesting.
Foraging Crab Apples Safely
Before consuming foraged crab apples, always verify:
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You’ve correctly identified the tree species, especially if new to foraging.
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The fruit is ripe. Never eat obviously underripe or overripe crab apples.
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The fruit is undamaged. Discard punctured, leaking or suspicious specimens.
Proper identification ensures a delicious, safe foraged feast. But if in doubt, remember “When in nature, don’t eat it!”
Enjoying the Versatility of Crab Apples
Keep an eye out for ornamental crab apple trees in neighborhoods and the countryside this spring. Then revisit in fall to harvest the ripe bounty. Follow the visual cues to pick only mature fruits at their peak flavor. The versatility of crab apples, from juicy fresh eating to cooked in pies and preserves, makes foraging these petite wild apples a seasonal treat not to be missed!
Where do crabapples grow?
Crabapples are common and widely distributed across the Midwest. They can be found in parks, abandoned orchards, former homesteads, open woods, thickets, old fields, streambanks, grasslands and near hiking trails.
Everything You Need to Know About Crabapples! | DAFT
FAQ
When should crabapples be picked?
As crabapples ripen they become sweeter. Foragers should wait for crabapples to ripen completely and become soft before harvesting. Some sources suggest waiting to harvest them until after the first frost in the fall. Crabapple flavor varies from tree to tree and from one variety to the next.
How do you know when crabapples are ripe?
To check if a crab apple is ripe, cut it open and look at the seeds. If they’re brown instead of white or green, it means the crab apple is ready to eat. It should also feel squishy when you press it with your hand. A ripe crab apple’s taste will be sour but not overwhelmingly so.Feb 20, 2024
Can you eat crab apples right off the tree?
As with other apples, do not eat the core or seeds which contain a toxic compound that can turn into cyanide when eaten. Crab apples are sour because they contain more malic acid – the same taste as in unripe apples. Many people are surprised to hear that crab apples are edible straight from the tree.
What time of year do crab apples fall out of trees?
Crab apples typically appear on the tree in summer and ripen in fall, but the best time to pick them is winter!Mar 31, 2018