Hey all,
I found this crabapple(?) growing in a field near my work. Presumably wild, but the fruits are larger than I am used to for a crabapple. I have been testing them over the last month, still very tannic but some sweetness is developing. Could they just be runty apples?
The long skinny stems (peduncles), but larger fruit size make me believe it’s a hybrid between domestic apple and either a wild or ornamental crabapple of a different species.
I was thinking that, too. I wonder if it will sweeten up enough to be edible? Or maybe useful in cider making.
What color are the seeds right now? That should give a clue as to how much more development the fruit may undergo.
try making some wine with them. i used some wild crabs once to make wine and it was very good.
I just made jelly with some yellow crabapples of a similar size, and that came out really good! I made some with just the apples, but I found it better when mixed with a small amount of luma berries (about 80% apples by volume). Even if they aren’t good for fresh eating, they might be fine for jelly making!
There’s a wild crabapple growing close by, a few for scale. Those are roughly the size of a chickpea.
The bigger of your two looks very much like many of the wild crabs growing in this area. Many also have the small size fruit (I call them bird crabs). The leaves and form of the two are a bit different.
I’ve always assumed the larger fruited wild crabs had some Dolgo, Ranetka, or/and Red Splendor genes. Many Minnesota SWCDs sell bundles of Red Splendor crabs for wildlife trees. They ultimately spread their genes around thanks to the critters.
one batch i added 20% aronia. made it a nice purple and tasted great as well.
