[Sca-cooks] On apples

[Volker Bach]

If you manage to produce crabapple cider, that seems to make good vinegar (at least if we can trust Hieronymus Tragus).
 


     Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com> schrieb am 13:22 Donnerstag, 22.Oktober 2015:
   

 If as reported, it's  a Malus sylvestris, it appears to be a cider apple of long standing. 

http://www.treesandhedging.co.uk/crab-apple-malus-sylvestris/p430

"A pretty, rounded tree, attractive both in blossom and in fruit. A British native, it is one of the ancestors of all our cultivated apples and is often seen in hedgerows. It makes a pretty specimen tree for the garden and is a good pollinator for other apples. It is a useful addition to woodlands, where it will support a range of insects and birds."
"
Flower, seed and fruit
The saucer-shaped five petalled white flowers are tinged pink and open in May. The small round green fruits ripen in autumn to yellow, flushed red. They are very sour even when ripe.

Uses
Crab apples are too sour to eat raw, but can be made into jams or added to other fruits where their high pectin content ensures a good 'set'. The have also been added to cider and were an ingredient of the medieval drink Lamb’s Wool. The close-grained wood is prized for wood turning, and it is also valued as a sweet-scented fuel."

Crab apple jelly would be a possible use. 

http://www.greenfootsteps.com/crabapple-jelly-recipe.html#sthash.zKdgDqzh.dpbs

http://www.yankeemagazine.com/recipe/crab-apple-jelly

Other ideas

http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2013/09/what-to-do-with-all-of-these-crabapples.html

Have fun

Johnnae



On Oct 21, 2015, at 7:32 PM, Lijsbet de Keukere <lijsbet.vandelfthout at gmail.com> wrote:

> What? The newbie has another question? Inconceivable! :)
> 
> Someone new to my barony lives on land that was once a cider orchard, and
> many of the trees are still standing. The variety, they say, is Malus
> sylvestris, which, if I'm looking in the right places, is a wild crab apple
> originating in Northern Europe. The owner says this variety can be traced
> back to the colonial era in America (the earliest mention I was able to
> find was a 1799 botany book).snipped
> I don't want to get my hopes up, but I will say that the prospect of having
> unfettered access to a cultivar of apple that is very close to SCA period
> is exciting, and has me preparing my mason jars. But before I get too far
> ahead of myself, is anyone here familiar with this variety of apple?
> Thank you for humoring me, and for your patience with the frequency of my
> questions!
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