Martha Stewart has been vocal about the poor quality of food and less-than-desirable meals served in prison. When Stewart served five months after being sentenced for obstruction of justice, she noticed that some ingredients were years past the products’ listed expiration dates. “You would not want to eat that food,” she told the Daily Mail.
In an attempt to make some of these dishes more palatable, Stewart took it upon herself to make use of what she could — and that included picking crab apples from trees on the premises. The 105-acre compound contained an assortment of trees, and Stewart set to work making jam with the crab apples she gathered. Stewart has long touted the merits of crab apples and encouraged that the small, tart fruits can not only be eaten but offer pretty blooms to gaze at in the spring. She has encouraged home owners to add crabapple trees to their own gardens for added fragrance and aesthetic appeal. Due to their tartness, however, Stewart has admitted that these tiny apples are not ideal for snacking but are better used for chutneys, jams, and preserves.
Looks can be deceiving
On Martha Stewart’s website, Stewart explains that both jelly and jams can be made from an assortment of fruits, and that includes small, bitter crab apples. Whereas jelly has all fruit solids strained out of the final recipe, jam often contains pieces of mashed fruit in each spoonful. A recipe to make jelly or jam out of collected fruit can be put together in 45 minutes to serve or store for later use in canning containers like Bell jars with air-tight lids.
Original PB&J sandwiches were made with crab apple jelly, and crab apples can also be used to make cider or be incorporated into baking projects like pies, tarts, and bread. Recipes for crab apple jam can be made with fruit, water, sugar, a squeeze of lemon, and a sprinkle of salt. Once cooled, this jammy creation can be stored in the fridge for a week or frozen for up to a year. When slathered onto buttered, toasted cornbread or spooned onto a stack of maple syrup-coated pancakes, this tart addition can add depth to meals and perk up classic favorites.
