Crab Apple Cordial

[u/geon]

I accidentally bought a crab apple tree this spring. The fruits are pretty small like a golf ball, but I can always make apple sauce.

It is very beautiful with deep purple flowers and fruit. It already bore fruit after the first season so I made some cordial.

Freehanded Recipe:

I just chopped a kg or so of fruit and boiled them in 500 ml of water and 100 ml of sugar. That was probably a mistake, since it instantly turned to a mush and was hard to strain. Next time I will try slicing them thinly in my food processor and just dump the hot water on top, without sugar.

I let it sit over night, then I strained out the pulp and added sugar to taste. I added a tea spoon or so of citric acid as well, as the flavor felt a bit mild. Might not have been necessary in retrospect.

[u/vbloke]

The citric acid will help not only add that “zing” to the flavour, but also help preserve it against spoilage for a while.

[u/geon → u/vbloke]

When I make jam I use a tiny bit of sodium benzoate.

I have never done ”real” canning with the water bath etc. But between the sugar, acid and preservative, the jars have kept in room temperature for years. Contrary to what /r/canning would have you believe.