gregbathurst
Well-Known Member
I decided to record some observations on using crabs in cider. This is not based on science or tradition, just my experience making cider using crabs to give extra interest.
Firstly, there is a basic premise in cidermaking that you can make cider from any type of apples. Some may disagree, but you don't get any really nasty flavours in any sort of apple. You may get some odd flavours that some may find objectionable, but no really nasty flavours like foxy or rotten odours. This is assuming the apples are fully ripe and not rotten. It may be difficult to tell with some crabs when they are ripe, because of bitterness but if you test the S.G. they will get good sugar levels like any apple.
The basic taste of crabs is dominated often by bitterness and sourness. The bitterness comes from tannins, and gives your mouth the furry, dry towel feeling. The sourness is from the high acidity many crabs have, and usually gets a lot better as the crabs ripen. If a crab is mouth-puckering sour it needs more ripening time.
There is also a lot of sweetness in many crabs, I find it easy to get SGs around 1.060 when my orchard apples are struggling to get to 1.055. Testing the sweetness with a hydrometer or refractometer is a good way to test ripeness. If the SG has got to 1.060 it is a good time to harvest crabs, though you can often leave them longer because the bitterness tends to discourage some insects. Sometime they get soft and floury as they ripen, this is fine, it won't affect the juice. If your crabs don't get good sugar even at the end of autumn they should still be fine to use to add tannin.
There is a lot of variation between crabapple trees. Some have small crabs like small cherries, some have bigger, brightly colored crabs. I find that the bitterness is worse with small crabs, and less with bigger crabs. This means the bigger crabs can be used in larger volumes, so help a lot to boost sg and acidity. Smaller crabs are more time consuming to pick and you won't get a lot off each tree, but can provide a good dose of tannins even in small quantities.
The usual analysis of crab juice that I use is;
S.G. 1.055-1.065
pH 3.1-3.4
Off a medium sized standard tree with crabs about 1 inch diameter I would get about 100 pounds of apples (or more) giving about 6-7 gallons of juice. You don't get as much juice off a crab as you get from a normal apple (by volume), crabs just have less juice and firmer flesh.
Crabs are smaller but you often get a very good harvest with lots of little fruits in clusters. Being smaller they are easier to shred, they get drawn into the blades of whatever sort of shredder/disposal unit you are using.
You would normally use about 10%-20% crabs depending on how much tannin they have. I have made some 100% crab cider from some mild crabs I have, its a touch bitter but I enjoy it so far. English bittersweet or bittersharp varieties are usually used at least 40% with some Single Variety ciders made.
After pressing taste the juice and test with the hydrometer. The juice will taste very sweet and you won't notice the bitterness so much behind the sugar, but be careful, the sugar ferments out and will leave the bitterness behind. Usually you will have a lot more orchard apples than crabs, so blending your crab juice into your desserts and cookers isn't so difficult. You can blend before or after fermenting, I find it more convenient to blend as I press the juice, but if you wait till after fermentation you will get a better idea of the final flavor. Remember, it's a fact that tannins get smoother as they age, so cider with crabs will taste better with some age.
I would recommend using crabapples to get extra tannins and body in your cider if you don't have access to bittersweet/bittersharp cider cultivars, but you have to be a bit cautious and use commonsense. Whatever happens you will get a cider that is absolutely unique.
Greg
Firstly, there is a basic premise in cidermaking that you can make cider from any type of apples. Some may disagree, but you don't get any really nasty flavours in any sort of apple. You may get some odd flavours that some may find objectionable, but no really nasty flavours like foxy or rotten odours. This is assuming the apples are fully ripe and not rotten. It may be difficult to tell with some crabs when they are ripe, because of bitterness but if you test the S.G. they will get good sugar levels like any apple.
The basic taste of crabs is dominated often by bitterness and sourness. The bitterness comes from tannins, and gives your mouth the furry, dry towel feeling. The sourness is from the high acidity many crabs have, and usually gets a lot better as the crabs ripen. If a crab is mouth-puckering sour it needs more ripening time.
There is also a lot of sweetness in many crabs, I find it easy to get SGs around 1.060 when my orchard apples are struggling to get to 1.055. Testing the sweetness with a hydrometer or refractometer is a good way to test ripeness. If the SG has got to 1.060 it is a good time to harvest crabs, though you can often leave them longer because the bitterness tends to discourage some insects. Sometime they get soft and floury as they ripen, this is fine, it won't affect the juice. If your crabs don't get good sugar even at the end of autumn they should still be fine to use to add tannin.
There is a lot of variation between crabapple trees. Some have small crabs like small cherries, some have bigger, brightly colored crabs. I find that the bitterness is worse with small crabs, and less with bigger crabs. This means the bigger crabs can be used in larger volumes, so help a lot to boost sg and acidity. Smaller crabs are more time consuming to pick and you won't get a lot off each tree, but can provide a good dose of tannins even in small quantities.
The usual analysis of crab juice that I use is;
S.G. 1.055-1.065
pH 3.1-3.4
Off a medium sized standard tree with crabs about 1 inch diameter I would get about 100 pounds of apples (or more) giving about 6-7 gallons of juice. You don't get as much juice off a crab as you get from a normal apple (by volume), crabs just have less juice and firmer flesh.
Crabs are smaller but you often get a very good harvest with lots of little fruits in clusters. Being smaller they are easier to shred, they get drawn into the blades of whatever sort of shredder/disposal unit you are using.
You would normally use about 10%-20% crabs depending on how much tannin they have. I have made some 100% crab cider from some mild crabs I have, its a touch bitter but I enjoy it so far. English bittersweet or bittersharp varieties are usually used at least 40% with some Single Variety ciders made.
After pressing taste the juice and test with the hydrometer. The juice will taste very sweet and you won't notice the bitterness so much behind the sugar, but be careful, the sugar ferments out and will leave the bitterness behind. Usually you will have a lot more orchard apples than crabs, so blending your crab juice into your desserts and cookers isn't so difficult. You can blend before or after fermenting, I find it more convenient to blend as I press the juice, but if you wait till after fermentation you will get a better idea of the final flavor. Remember, it's a fact that tannins get smoother as they age, so cider with crabs will taste better with some age.
I would recommend using crabapples to get extra tannins and body in your cider if you don't have access to bittersweet/bittersharp cider cultivars, but you have to be a bit cautious and use commonsense. Whatever happens you will get a cider that is absolutely unique.
Greg