Easy Crabapple Syrup

Do you have an abundance of crabapples in the fall that you don't know what to do with? Are they ripening faster than you can eat them? Make this recipe, and you will have a steady supply of this sweet, delicious crabapple syrup all winter long. Then, when it is the middle of winter and 30 below, I drizzle this syrup on Sheet Pan Pancakes or Crispy Belgian Waffles, and it takes me back to the glorious days of summer. It also makes a wonderful topping for ice cream.

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Here at Winding Creek Ranch, we have 3 crabapple trees that produce buckets of apples in the fall. When they ripen, we have to get to them fast before they fall on the ground. I have experimented with many crabapple recipes over the years. Our favorite is this delicious crabapple syrup. It is a party for our tastebuds!

This delicious crabapple syrup can be stored in jars for about 1 year in a cool, dark place or kept cold in the fridge for up to a few months. We produce a lot of it, so we prefer to put it in jars and process it in a hot water bath.

💭 No Added Pectin

This recipe contains no added pectin. I have read about certain side effects of pectin, in which pectin can reduce the body's ability to absorb beta-carotene and also interfere with the body's ability to absorb certain drugs, like cholesterol-lowering drugs and heart medicine. Pectin is a thickener, but it doesn't need to be thickened anyway since this is a syrup. Plus, as it cools, it thickens up slightly.

🍎 How To Make Crabapple Syrup

Essentially, crabapple syrup is crabapple juice with added sugar. That means that first, you need to make apple juice. Let's get started!

📋 Using an electric juicer

Here at the Ranch, we have electric juicers. This makes the process very quick and easy. Just rinse the crabapples with water, cut out any bad spots, and start running them through your electric juicer. The juicer will catch all of the stems and apple seeds. You will need to clean the filter of your juicer periodically as it gets plugged up.

📋 No electric juicer? Make it the old-fashioned way

First, rinse the crabapples with water, cut out any bad spots, and put them into a huge pot. You can leave them whole with the stems on. Add just enough water to cover the apples, then bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes, just until the crabapples are soft enough to mash with a potato masher. Then turn off the heat and let the crabapples cool slightly. Do not overcook.

👩🏽‍🍳 Once you have juice:

• When you have all of your juice made, pour it through a double layer of cheesecloth or a clean dish towel over a bowl and let the juice drain. Don’t squeeze the cloth as the juice is draining or your syrup might get cloudy. This will catch any foaminess that you accumulated in your juice. You will end up with beautiful, clear juice. This may take a while, don't rush it.
• Prepare your jars and lids for canning by washing in warm, soapy water and rinsing thoroughly, or running them through a cycle in your dishwasher. Place the rack inside your hot water canner, set jars in the canner, add water and boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize. Warm your lids in a small pot over low heat. Keep jars and lids warm until ready to use. Do not boil the lids.
• Next, measure your strained juice and put it in a large pot. For every cup of juice, add ½ cup to ¾ cup of cane sugar. This will depend on your own personal tastes. We like to add the least amount of sugar as possible, and our crabapples tend to be pretty sweet.

⏲️ Final Steps

• Whisk the cane sugar and juice together over medium heat until the cane sugar is dissolved. Do not let the mixture boil. Let it cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
• Spread an old kitchen towel on the counter. Use your jar lifter to remove very warm jars from the canner, drain, and line up on the towel. Use your canning ladle and funnel and add the crabapple syrup to warm jars leaving ¼-inch headspace. Wipe the rims with a clean cloth. Use your magnetic lid lifter to lift lids out of the warm water, center the lid on the jar, and screw on the band until it is fingertip tight. Do not overtighten.
• Using the jar lifter, place jars carefully into the canner leaving space between them. You do not want them to be touching. When the jars are all in the canner, add more boiling water so the water level is at least one inch above the jar tops. I boil water in my kettle and have it ready to go for this reason. Pour the water around the jars and not directly onto them.
• Cover the canner with the lid and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Once the water boils, continue boiling for 10 minutes.
• When the processing time is complete, turn off the heat. Place an old kitchen towel on your counter to place your hot jars. They cannot be moved for about 24 hours, so make sure it is in a spot where they won't be disturbed. Remove the lid of the canner by tilting the lid away from you so that steam does not burn you. Use a jar lifter to lift jars carefully from the canner and place the jars on the towel. Allow the jars to cool for 12 to 24-hours. When you hear the "ping" of "pop" you know that your jars are sealing. I usually do a little happy dance at this point.
• Let the water in the canner cool completely before emptying it. 
• After about 12 to 24 hours, check the jars to see if the lids have sealed by pushing on the center of the lid. The lid should not pop up. If the lid bends up and down, it did not seal. Place that jar in the fridge and use it up first.
• Wipe the outside of the jars with a clean cloth to remove any sticky residue. Label and date your jars. Store your lovely homemade crabapple syrup in a cool, dark place and use it within 12 months. 
• If you want to store the syrup in the fridge, just let the syrup cool completely and pour the cooled syrup into bottles or sterilized canning jars and then store it in the fridge. The syrup will keep in the fridge for several months. 

Related Recipes

• Raspberry Rhubarb Freezer Jam
• Homemade Raspberry Rhubarb Ice Cream
• Smore's Ice Cream - No-Churn Recipe
• Haskap Berry Ice Cream - No Churn

I hope you enjoy this homemade Delicious Crabapple Syrup as much as we do.

Please let me know in the comments below how you enjoyed the recipe, or send me an email on my Contact Page? You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

📋 Recipe

Homemade Crabapple Syrup - No added pectin

Do you have an abundance of crabapples in the fall that you don't know what to do with? Are they ripening faster than you can eat them? Make this recipe, and you will have a steady supply of this sweet, delicious crabapple syrup all winter long.  When it is the middle of winter and 30 below, this decadent syrup will take you back to the glorious days of summer.

5 from 37 votes

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Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apple, breakfast, jam, preserves

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 3 half-pint jars

Calories: 59kcal

Ingredients

• 6 cups crabapple juice
• 2 cup cane sugar or adjust to taste

Instructions

Use an electric juicer

• Rinse the crabapples with water (make sure they are not going rotten or have any worms) and start running them through your electric juicer. The juicer will catch all of the stems and apple seeds.  You will need to clean the filter of your juicer periodically as it gets plugged up.

OR make the juice the old-fashioned way on the stove

• First, rinse the crabapples with water, cut out any bad spots, and put them into a very large pot.  You can leave them whole with the stems on.
• Add just enough water to cover the apples, then bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.  When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes, just until the crabapples are soft enough to mash with a potato masher. Then turn off the heat and let the crabapples cool slightly.  Do not overcook.  

Once you have the juice , then:

• When you have all of your juice made, pour it through a double layer of cheesecloth or a clean dish towel over a bowl and let the juice drain. Don’t squeeze the cloth as the juice is draining or your syrup might get cloudy. This will catch any foaminess that you accumulated in your juice.  You will end up with beautiful, clear juice.  This may take a while, don't rush it.
• Prepare your jars and lids for canning by washing in warm, soapy water and rinsing thoroughly, or running them through a cycle in your dishwasher.  Place the rack inside your hot water canner, set jars in the canner, add water and boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize. Warm your lids in a small pot over low heat. Keep jars and lids warm until ready to use.  Do not boil the lids. 
• Next, measure your strained juice and put it in a large pot.  For every cup of juice, add ½ to ¾ cup of cane sugar.  This will depend on your own personal tastes.  We like to add the least amount of sugar as possible, and our crabapples tend to be pretty sweet. You can always add more sugar, so start on the lower end.

Final Steps:

• Whisk the cane sugar and juice together over medium heat until the cane sugar is dissolved. Do not let the mixture boil.  Let it cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Spread an old kitchen towel on the counter. Use your jar lifter to remove heated jars from the canner, drain, and line them up on the towel. Use a funnel and ladle and add the crabapple syrup to warm jars, making sure to leave ¼-inch headspace. Wipe the rims with a clean cloth. Use your magnetic lid lifter to lift lids out of the warm water, center the lid on the jar, and screw on the band until it is fingertip tight.  Do not overtighten.
• Using the jar lifter, place jars carefully into the canner leaving space between them. You do not want them to be touching.  When the jars are all in the canner, add more boiling water so the water level is at least one inch above the jar tops. I boil water in my kettle and have it ready to go for this reason.  Pour the water around the jars and not directly onto them.
• Cover the canner with the lid and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Once the water boils, continue boiling for 10 minutes. When the processing time is complete, turn off the heat. 
• Place an old kitchen towel on your counter to place your hot jars on.  They cannot be moved for about 24 hours, so make sure it is in a spot where they won't be disturbed.  Remove the lid of the canner by tilting the lid away from you so that steam does not burn you.  Use a jar lifter to lift jars carefully from the canner and place the jars on the towel.
• Allow the jars to cool for 12 to 24-hours. When you hear the "ping" or "pop" you know that your jars are sealing.  I usually do a little happy dance at this point.
• Let the water in the canner cool completely before emptying it. 
• After about 12 to 24 hours, check the jars to see if the lids have sealed by pushing on the center of the lid.  The lid should not pop back. If the lid bends up and down, it did not seal. Place that jar in the fridge and use it up first.  
• Wipe the outside of the jars with a clean cloth to remove any sticky residue.  Label and date your jars.  Store your lovely homemade crabapple syrup in a cool, dark place and use it within 12 months.
•  If you want to store the syrup in the fridge, just let the syrup cool completely and pour the cooled syrup into bottles or sterilized canning jars and then store it in the fridge.  The syrup will keep in the fridge for several months. 
• Enjoy!

Notes

• 6 cups of crabapple juice will yield about 3 half-pint jars of crabapple syrup.
• Nutritional information is approximate and is meant as a guideline only.

Nutrition

Serving: 1grams | Calories: 59kcal

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