Homemade Crabapple Butter: Spiced Fruit Spread

Crabapple butter turns small, tart crabapples into a richly spiced spread that captures the flavor of autumn in a jar. If your tree is dropping more fruit than you can use fresh, making butter is an excellent way to use the harvest. The natural tartness of crabapples pairs beautifully with sugar, orange, and warming spices to produce a complex, deeply flavored spread that’s different from standard apple butter.

This method, adapted from a classic home-preserving source, uses the whole fruit rather than only the juice. Quarter the crabapples, simmer them until soft, then pass the cooked fruit through a food mill to remove skins and cores. No peeling or coring is required, which makes this a fast and forgiving preserve for windfalls and less-than-perfect fruit.

The recipe adds orange zest and juice plus cinnamon, cloves, and ginger for a bright, aromatic butter. Crabapples are naturally high in pectin, so the purée thickens fairly quickly when reduced and yields a smooth, silky texture once processed through a food mill.

Ingredients

This recipe requires roughly 6 cups of crabapple purée, which typically comes from about 4 pounds of whole crabapples. Yield varies with fruit size and juiciness, so gather a few extra crabapples to be safe.

• Crabapples: 4 pounds, stems and blossom ends removed, quartered. No peeling or coring needed.
• Water: 1 cup, to start the cooking process.
• Orange: Zest and juice of 1 large orange (fresh).
• Granulated sugar: 2 cups.
• Ground cinnamon: 1½ teaspoons.
• Ground cloves: ½ teaspoon.
• Ground ginger: ½ teaspoon.

Step-by-Step Instructions

This process includes an initial cook to soften the fruit, a pass through a food mill to remove skins and cores, then a final reduction to thicken the purée into butter. Prepare canning equipment only once the butter is close to its final thickness.

Cook the crabapples

In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine the quartered crabapples and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook until the fruit is soft, about 20–30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Purée the fruit

Working in batches, pass the cooked crabapples through a food mill to remove skins and cores and create a smooth purée. You want about 6 cups of purée. A fine-mesh sieve and a spatula can work in a pinch, but a food mill is much faster.

Make the butter

In a clean large saucepan, combine the crabapple purée, orange zest and juice, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens and holds its shape on a spoon—typically 20 to 40 minutes depending on moisture content. Stir more often as it thickens to prevent scorching.

Fill jars

Ladle the hot butter into prepared half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, center lids, and apply bands fingertip-tight. Process filled jars in a boiling water bath according to the times below for shelf-stable storage.

Canning and Storage

Uncanned, crabapple butter keeps in the refrigerator for up to three weeks or in the freezer for up to a year. For shelf-stable storage, process jars in a boiling water bath. Ensure jars are covered by at least 1 inch of boiling water and process for the recommended time for your altitude.

Serving Ideas

Crabapple butter is excellent on toast, biscuits, and muffins. Its bright tartness and warm spice also pair well with savory foods: try it with roasted pork, on a ham sandwich, or alongside sharp cheddar. Use it as a filling for cookies, swirl into yogurt or oatmeal, or warm and brush it as a glaze for roasted chicken or pork.

Crabapple Butter FAQs