Crab Apple Jelly Recipes!!

We have been busy at Garside's Fruit Farm this past week, picking our delicious Crab Apples.  These little red apples, make a delicious Jelly.  I have added two recipes to this post for you to make with Garside's Fruit Farm Crab Apples.

I have had several people emailing to ask what variety our Crab Apples are, they are the Dolga Variety.

Our Crab Apples are available NOW for $1.00 per pound.

The recipes below discuss using 4 pounds of Crab Apples, I always use 10 pounds at one time to make a nice sized batch - makes around 2 dozen or just under 250 mL jars.

I have made both recipes and both are delicious, however I do tend to make the recipe without Pectin, as Crab Apples naturally contain enough Pectin on their own to gel nicely.

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Crab Apple Jelly

(Without  Pectin)

1. Use tart, hard-ripe fruit.
2. Wash the fruit and discard the stem and blossom ends.  Place fruit in a kettle with water barely to cover ( 2 cups water to 4 cups fruit).  Bring the water to a boil and simmer the fruit until it is soft.
3. Turn fruit and juice into a wet jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth lined sieve placed over bowl. Let drip 1 to 4 hours or overnight.
4. Measure the juice and bring it to a rolling boil.
5. Add 3/4 cup sugar to each cup of juice and stir until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved.  Then boil rapidly until the jellying point is reached. 
6. Skim and pour into hot sterilized jelly glasses to within 1/4 inch of the top. Cover with lids and seal.

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Crabapple Jelly

(With  Pectin)

Using 4 lbs Crab Apples:

1. Wash fruit. Remove blossom and stem ends.  Add 6 cups water, simmer covered 10 minutes.  Crush fruit, cook 5 minutes longer.
2. Place in wet jelly bag or cheesecloth lined sieve placed over bowl.  Let drip 1 to 4 hours or overnight. 
3. Measure juice.  If insufficient juice is extracted, up to ½ cup apple juice may be added.
4. In a deep, stainless steel saucepan, combine 5 cups prepared juice.
5. Gradually whisk in 1 pkg. Fruit pectin until dissolved.  Stirring frequently, bring mixture to a boil
6. Add 7 cups sugar.  Over high heat, return to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down.  Boil hard one minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat, skim foam.
7. Pour into hot sterilized jelly glasses to within ¼ inch of the top.  Cover with lids and seal.  Makes approximately seven 250 ml. Jars.   

Crab Apples

Well its that time of the year again, the Crab Apples are ready for picking.  We are starting the pick today!  So if you have a pre-order in, we will be calling or emailing you soon, to let you know your order is ready for pickup.

If anyone would like to get an order in, please contact us soon, we do sell out of our crab apples each year.  These little apples make a delicious Jelly!  I have recipes that I can give anyone if you would like one.

The crab apples are available for $1.00 per pound, get your orders in quick!!

So, if you are interested in ordering or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via email at garsidesfruitfarm@shaw.ca or phone 604.556.4273.

Summer is Here!!

Finally some nice weather is gracing the Vancouver area this Summer.  June was a rather dismal month, luckily our fruit doesn't mind a little rain.  The fruit is looking good so far, the first item that will be ready is our Sour Cherries.  We have a limited supply of sour cherries and have likely already taken orders for our crop, but if you are interested in them, please do not hesitate to call or email us to be put on the list.

The crab apples will be the next fruit available, followed by the Bartlett Pears and Gravenstein Apples.  If you would like to pre-order any of our fruit please do not hesitate to contact us via email at garsidesfruitfarm@shaw.ca or 604.556.4273.

We also have our delicious Roasting Chickens available for $3.50 per pound.

We look forward to seeing all our regular customers, as well as new customers this Summer and Fall.

Roasting Chickens :)

Hello Everyone!

If anyone is interested in getting some of our delicious Garside's Fruit Farm Roasting Chickens let us know. We are trying to organize a large delivery to the Vancouver area in the next week/weekend time frame.

Our Roasting Chickens are fed a top quality, locally produced grain, with no hormones or antibiotics and allowed access to outside pasture. They are available for $3.50 per pound.

Please feel free to call or email us with any questions or orders at 604.556.4273 or garsidesfruitfarm@shaw.ca

Welcome to a new year

I hope that everyone is enjoying their winter and looking forward to spring/summer. At Garsides Fruit Farm we definately are, and hoping that it will be a great fruit year.

We still have our delicious free-range roasting chickens available for sale at $3.50 per pound. Get your orders in quick as our stocks are dwindling. We will be raising more chickens starting in early Spring. These chickens have been fed top-quality, locally produced grain, allowed access to outside pasture and were given no hormones or antibiotics.

As a reminder we do take pre-orders for all our products, so if there is certain items you wish to order we do recommend a pre-order to ensure you able to receive the quantity you desire, as we do sell out of most fruits quickly. Just call or email us with any questions or pre-orders.

Last Chance!

Its your last chance to get delicious Garside's Fruit Farm Apples for the 2011 season.

Currently we have left Boskoop Apples, Jonagold Apples and a few Bramley's left. These apples are available for $1.25/lb. We also have a few King Apples available, these are available for $1.00/lb.

We are also clearing out our Windfall Apples, they are clearance priced for only $0.50/lb.

Also available are our Free Range Roasting Chickens - our chickens were fed a top quality, locally produced grain, access to outdoor pasture, and were given no hormones or antibiotics. Our chickens are available for $3.50/lb.

Contact us quickly to insure you get the quantities you desire. You can reach us via phone at 604.556.4273 or email at garsidesfruitfarm@shaw.ca

Its time for Jonagolds!

Our Jonagolds are ripe and delicious. We have just started picking them, and have them available at the farm. We are also picking our Spartan Apples now.

If you would like to put in an order, please contact us soon, as these apples will sell out fast!

Still to come are our Gloster and Northern Spy Apples.

We still have available: Bramley and Boskoop Apples.

All these apples are available for $1.25 per pound.

If you would like to place an order or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via phone at 604.556.4273 or garsidesfruitfarm@shaw.ca

We also still have our Free Range Roasting Chickens available for $3.50 per pound.