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The Best Way to Juice Crab Apples

September 7, 2019

There’s nothing like the taste of homemade crab apple juice, and you can’t buy it in stores. If you love crab apple juice, the only way to get it is to make it yourself. And while it’s a lot of work to pick the apples, make the juice, and can it, it is definitely worth it.

Over the years, I’ve made and canned a lot of crab apple juice using different methods. Each method has it’s pros and cons, and I have my favourites depending on what my goals are. Yes, you can have goals when it comes to canning and preserving, as silly as that may seem.

In this post, I’ll go over the three different methods I’ve used to make crab apple juice, what you need to make them, and the pros and cons of each of them. So get your crab apples ready and let’s make some juice!

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting Shifting Roots!

The Low Tech Way: Making Crab Apple Juice Without a Juicer

Making crab crab apple juice without a juicer is the most labour intensive of the three juice making methods, but it’s also the cheapest and best use of the whole apple.

In short, you cut the crab apples, removing the stems, cores, and blossom ends. You then put these apples in water along with some lemon juice, and either leave them overnight in the fridge, or cook them for 15 minutes and mash them.

After either of these processes, you strain out the crab apple bits and either can or freeze the remaining juice.

An extra-large bowl like this one and a sharp knife are all you really need.

Because you’ve already cleaned the crab apples and there’s no inedible bits, you can then make apple sauce with the leftover crab apple parts.

I like making juice this way when I don’t have one huge stretch of time to make everything. I can cut apples in the evening, leave them in the water overnight, and then deal with everything else the next morning.

  • Pros: No expensive equipment required. Work can be spaced out.
  • Cons: Lots of cutting. The juice can get darker and not as clear.

Grab Your Extra Large Bowl Here

The Fast Way: Using an Electric Juicer

We were recently given an electric juicer to try out this harvest, and I’m not sure I’m a fan. On one hand, it’s very fast to put the apples through the juicer. There’s not cutting and slicing–just press the crab apples into the juicer and that’s it.

This is the juicer I used… I don’t recommend it.

On the other hand, I don’t like the “juice” you end up with. There’s a large amount of pulp that’s left behind and it was so slow trying to remove the juice from the very fine pulp. In the end, I decided that it wasn’t worth trying to separate the two, and just made the whole works into a smooth apple sauce.

I realize that I might not have used the best electric juicer on the market. However, I don’t juice vegetables or fruits on a regular basis, so it wouldn’t be worth it to me to invest in a high quality juicer. If you juice more regularly, then this might be the method for you.

Maybe this electric juicer would be better?

Use this method if you have a lot of apples to process and very little time to do so.

  • Pros: Fast to process the juice
  • Cons: Juice is more like sauce if you use a low quality juicer

Get the High Quality Electric Juicer Here

The Best Quality Way: Using a Steamer Juicer

I’ll be the first to admit that using a steamer juicer to make apple juice is a finicky affair. You must watch the water levels in the bottom of the juicer. The whole contraption is heavy. And finally, you have to watch your clamp and be sure the hose is perfectly secured. I have had the pleasure of having chokecherry juice spilled all over my wooden floors because I didn’t secure the clamp properly and didn’t lift the hose up. *whomp whomp*

But, if you want to make the prettiest and nicest textured juice, you’ll invest in the steamer juicer and do it anyway. Of the three methods, the steamer juicer makes the nicest juice, and the juice comes out hot enough to can it immediately.

Related: How to Juice Crab Apples

Steamer juicers are not cheap. But in my opinion, they are worth the investment because of the quality of the juice. You should also never have to replace it, except for the hose and clamp every 5 years or so.

  • Pros: Beautiful, clear juice. Can can juice immediately.
  • Cons: Expensive equipment. Learning curve to use the equipment without making mistakes.

Order Your Steamer Juicer here!

Which Crab Apple Juice Making Method with you Choose?

Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear about your experiences and if you agree with me.

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

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Filed Under: Uncategorised Tagged: Crab Apples, Juice, Juicing

How to Make Crab Apple Juice

August 5, 2016

One of my happiest childhood memories is of drinking crab apple juice straight from the jar at my babysitter’s house.  The juice was always accompanied by some tasty home baked cookies and delightful conversation.  Now that I’m older, I wanted to recreate the magic.

IMG_2821

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

7 Comments
Filed Under: Fruit Season, Gardening, Harvest, Outdoor Life, Tutorials Tagged: Apple season, Canning, Crab Apples, How-to, Juice, Juicing, picking, Preserving

10 Delicious Must-Have Citrus Recipes

March 26, 2016

Mmm. . . citrus.  Who doesn’t love the fresh taste and beautiful colours of citrus fruits?  Here are 10 of my favourite recipes that use limes, oranges, grapefruits, or lemons.  Let me know your favourite one!

citrus recipes

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Baking, Entertaining, Recipes, Use it up! Tagged: Cake, citrus, citrus salad, grapefruit, icing, Juicing, Lemon, lime, orange, Pancakes, salad

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

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Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Growing a luffa sponge was possibly the most chall Growing a luffa sponge was possibly the most challenging and finicky thing I've taken on so far as a gardener in zone 3.  And all I got to show for it was 3 baby loofah sponges, which are so precious to me that I can't bare to actually use them. (Kind of defeats the point, doesn't it?)⁠⠀
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I'll be starting mine soon, so I though I would share some of the improvements to the growing process from last year.⁠⠀
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1. Plant in larger containers!! I thought I used large enough ones, but I sorely underestimated how big these plants would get indoors.  Once of my readers suggested buckets, and I think this is an excellent idea.⁠⠀
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2. Plant only 1 plant per container.  I thought loofah's would be like a cucumber or pumpkin or other vining squash where you plant in a hill.  The containers with two plants in them did not do as well as the single seed containers.⁠⠀
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3. Have a string for the vine to climb.  Cutting the vine off of my window screen was not fun.⁠⠀
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Will you try luffas this year?⁠⠀
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#luffasponge #loofahsponge #luffachallenge2012 #seedstarting #wintergardening #indoorgardening⁠⠀
Got the seed starting itch? There's some things y Got the seed starting itch?  There's some things you can actually seed start now and you won't end up with crazy leggy seedlings and endless problems.  In fact, these plants require that you start now, and need to be started in zone 3 by the end of February at the absolute latest.⁠
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I've already started some lisianthus and eucalyptus, and am waiting on my seed orders to start some more.⁠
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If you're starting a luffa sponge, make sure you have some sort of eventual plan for the vine.  last year mine went over my fall windows before I was able to take them outdoors.⁠
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P.S. I've actually never started onions from seed, so if anyone wants to chin in about their experience, feel free!
Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year? Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year?  A new post is on the blog to walk you through it.  While in theory eucalyptus is easy to grow, it's challenging in my zone 3 garden for three reasons: ⁠
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➡️It needs a long time to mature⁠
➡️I have a short growing season⁠
➡️I live in a cool climate, and eucalyptus grows better when its warm.⁠
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That said, you can see by this picture that it can be done!!⁠
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Are you growing eucalyptus this year?
Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums up how this last week went, I think it's this one.  Babies crying, trying to stay calm, outwardly looking like it's all under control, but feeling very overwhelmed.⁠
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This post isn't gardening related, so feel free to scroll by if you're here only for the gardening content.⁠
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Thankfully it's January, and I keep reminding myself that the Internet will not break if I don't keep to my self-imposed posting schedule.  But it doesn't make a week full of teething-and-not-sleeping baby any easier. ⁠
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Felicity slept through the night for the first time ever last Monday, then proceeded to punish us with frequent wakings and terrible sleep until Saturday.  And as tough as this is in regular times, in Covid times its extra frustrating because I don't have my village.⁠
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I can't just call up another Mama friend and go for coffee at her house.  I can't take my son out for a Mommy-and-Dominic date because everything he'd want to do isn't really much of an option.  There's no playgroup or play place to just drop in on.  And forget just taking everybody out to get groceries just for a change of scenery.⁠
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I know people have way more serious problems than this, and I hope I don't sound whiny and entitled, it's not my intention.  Please know that I'm very grateful for my family and job and that so far we've been healthy. ⁠
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A lot of you who follow me do so in part because you are also juggling life with very little people through this strange time.  I hope that in occasionally sharing my struggles, it makes you feel better about your struggles. (You're struggling too sometimes. . . right?)
Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth deg Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth degree, do you just wing it, or are you somewhere in-between?⁠
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I tend to plan it all out, and then when I actually get out in the field, so to speak, the plan changes a little bit. ⁠
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If you need a garden planner that's both pretty & practical, my garden planner is available in the ebooks section.  It's only $9 and has lots of upgrades from the previous planner.  Use code CANADA if you're Canadian to account for the exchange.⁠
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P.S. You can see exactly what you're getting in the video--no surprises. ⁠
P.P.S  I get my planner bound and printed at a printing place.  Lots of people just print their own and put the sheets in a binder.
Are you gardening in containers this year? When y Are you gardening in containers this year?  When you're shopping for vegetable seeds, look for varieties that have names with words like patio, tiny, small, etc.  While lots of vegetable varieties will do fine in a container, you'll have an easier time with ones that are specifically bred for that situation.⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
I'm living the pepper dream in this photo. While I'm living the pepper dream in this photo.  While these ones are a bit on the small side, who doesn't want ripe peppers in July in zone 3?!?! ⁠
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Over the years I've gotten better at growing peppers, and I promise I'll spill my secrets in February when it's actually time to start them.  Until then, get yourself all or one of my four favourite varieties: ⁠
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🌶️Carmen⁠
🌶️Escamillo⁠
🌶️Candy Stripe⁠
🌶️Hungarian Hot Wax⁠
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Do you have a favourite pepper variety?⁠
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