This naturally vibrant pink crabapple syrup is a great way to use up early fall Dolgo crabapples. Crabapple simple syrup is a unique addition to mocktails, cocktails, lemonades, and more!
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One of my favorite late summer and early fall flavors is crabapple. Since our town has so many of the Dolgo crabapple trees, the flavors are nostalgic to me (along with chokecherry) since we’ve made recipes with them for years.
The taste of crabapples are super tart, but also sweet and has tons of flavor packed into a mini, dense, and brightly colored apple. The taste reminds me of Pink Lady apples but more tart and more concentrated.
There are a lot of different ways to use crabapples, including jellies, applesauce, etc. but I think this crabapple syrup is my new favorite way to use them!
I’ve been trying to add metric measures and weights to my I didn’t get a weight for the crabapples for this recipe while I was making it so I don’t have metric measurements for this recipe yet. I’ll try to get weights next time I make this, which might not be until next fall since the crabapple season is ending.
Why you’ll love this recipe
If you’re looking for unique ways to use up your crabapple harvest, this is a super simple and easy recipe you can make that doesn’t require canning.
Our recipe also only uses 2 ingredients (3 if you count the water), so it truly is simple but it tastes delicious and is a beautiful vibrant pink color that will make a great addition to drinks.
What kind of crabapples should I use for this recipe?
For this syrup, you’ll want to use Dolgo crabapples since that’s the variety this recipe was created with. As we mentioned in our crabapple butter post, there are several different kinds of crabapples and our recipes specifically use the Dolgo variety.
Dolgo crabapples are a pretty common tree in our area since they are very sturdy and cold-hardy, having originated in Siberia and brought to the plains area via South Dakota.
They have been commonly used as shelterbelt trees in the Great Plains, and since they grow so well here, we have Dolgo crabapples on almost every corner and in nearly every park, meaning we can get loads of these amazing apples for free every year, and many of the local parks don’t spray them for this reason.
How to make crabapple syrup
Here are the steps to make our crabapple simple syrup, this is just an overview, the full instructions and recipe card are at the end of the post.
- Wash your crabapples, remove the stems, cut off the flower remains off the bottom of the crabapple (the calyx), and cut in half, checking for worms if your crabapples aren’t sprayed. Don’t worry about coring or removing the seeds.
- Measure out 4 cups of halved crabapples and add to a 2 to 3-quart pot.
- Add 3/4 cup unbleached cane sugar (or regular white sugar) to the pan and 1/2 cup of water. I like using the Zulka brand unbleached sugar.
- Stir together and heat over medium heat until the liquid begins to simmer. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes to soften the fruit a bit and to release the liquid, but you don’t want to make the fruit too mushy.
- Remove from the heat and pour the apples and syrup into a wire mesh strainer to strain out the syrup. You can gently press on the fruit to help release the syrup, but don’t push the fruit through the strainer (this will result in puree).
- Pour the syrup into a jar and allow to cool completely before storing in the fridge.
- Don’t discard the apples, set them aside for making apple sauce or apple butter (more on that below).
Because the Dolgo crabapples are naturally quite tart, this recipe doesn’t need lemon juice like our strawberry simple syrup or blueberry syrup does to balance the flavors.
What to do with the leftover crabapples
Once the syrup is extracted, don’t toss the leftover apples!
The crabapples are still soft enough to use a food mill with a fine plate to separate the crabapple puree from the seeds and skin.
You’ll need to add some sugar to the puree to sweeten it some more (it will still be tart). If you add sugar it will be crabapple sauce, if you use brown sugar and spices, you’ll make crabapple butter.
When I used my leftover crabapples to make applesauce, I just added some pure maple syrup to sweeten it and just added it to taste without measuring.
I ended up with about 1-2 cups of applesauce from the leftover apples. Crabapple sauce is a natural beautiful pink color from the apple skins, it looks pretty neat!
Ways to use this crabapple syrup
I originally made this syrup mostly for drinks, but you can use this in a lot of different recipes and on top of other things, too. Here are a few ideas!
- Cocktails
- Mocktails
- Lemonade
- Added to sparkling water
- Syrup for shaved ice
- Pancakes or waffles
- Ice cream
- Hot tea (especially fruity herbal tea)
- Apple cider
Easy Crabapple Simple Syrup
Ingredients
- 4 cups trimmed and halved Dolgo crabapples (washed, stems removed, and the remaining flower parts on the bottom of the crabapple cut off)
- ¾ cup unbleached cane sugar (or regular white sugar)
- ½ cup water
Equipment
- Food mill, (if making applesauce with the leftover apples)
Instructions
- Wash your crabapples, remove the stems, cut off the flower end, and cut the crabapples in half (checking for worms if your apples aren't sprayed). Measure out 4 cups of trimmed and halved crabapples.
- Add the crabapples to a 2-quart saucepan and add the sugar and water. Stir to mix.
- Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid begins to simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 5 minutes. You want the fruit to release it's liquid, but you don't want it to be super mushy.
- Pour the fruit and liquid through a metal mesh strainer and gently press the fruit to release the liquid, but don't push the fruit pulp through the strainer.
- Don't discard the leftover apples, use a food mill to make crabapple puree for applesauce or apple butter.
- Pour the syrup into a jar and allow to cool completely. Store in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. Use this in mocktails, cocktails, over pancakes, and more!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie which she founded in 2011. Sarah is based in Wyoming and has been managing food allergies for herself and her 2 children for over 20 years. Sarah was also a certified personal trainer for 12 years, as well as a group fitness instructor, health coach, running coach, and fitness nutrition specialist.