Crab Apples

I am really crabby today....LOL....My dear friend Karen has a tree full of crab apples. She had picked all around the tree...her height's worth, and asked me if I wanted the rest of the apples, from the middle up...so funny...and of course, I never turn fruit or veggies away. Benny got a ladder, and we spent the morning getting the tiny green fruits pulled off the branches. This tree is one of the old Pioneer type...tiny and green...but still make wonderful jelly.

I love the little glass cutting boards (Dollar General)...
I watch my favorite TV shows and slice the blossom end off and pull out the stems..It takes a LONG time to do these tiny little tart apples. After rinsing them with water, I use a cup of water to start with, add more as they cook, and it took a long time to cook these little ones. I let the pan cool overnight, and this morning, I drained the juice off them. I had two whole cups ! I added equal amounts of sugar and started the batch. Crab Apples have their own pectin, so Certo is not needed. However, these apples were soooo sour, I had to add more sugar than the usual one to one ratio. I cooked them till the jelly dribbles off the spoon, and then threw in a few sprigs of Chocolate Mint leaves from the garden. I ended up with four pints. I have now finished the rest of the apples, and will make more tomorrow. Benny loves homemade jelly, so he is happy.