Wild apples are abundant across Montana. You may need to have a ladder to reach the high ones since deer and elk love to munch on the low hanging fruits. I often find crab apple trees at old home/campsites, along fence rows, and in stream bottoms.
Some old trees have been around for decades. They may have once been planted by Johnny Appleseed himself. Apples from cowboys or hunters lunch bags may have been cast aside and took root in many remote places. Native peoples also picked and carried apples across the lands. The small seeds often ended up in a brush pile.
Once the Crab Apples take root, they can replant themselves for generations. Birds also grab and carry these tasty fruits along their way.
As a Camp Cook, I am always looking at finding treats, herbs, spices, tubers, and fruits at remote campsites. Hunters get hungry and feeding them tasty local food is fun. One campsite, that we frequented, was several miles from the trailhead. I found some parts of an old wagon and some foundation stones from a log cabin. In the near vicinity were 4 mature Crab Apple Trees.
I picked about 6 pounds of these small apples. Then I Cut them in half and removed the core/seeds. Next, I got out my Dutch Oven for some slow cooking fun. I dumped the apples into my greased Dutch Oven and looked for some spices. I added 3 cups of sugar, 3 tsp. of cinnamon. ¼ tsp. of ground cloves, and ½ tsp of nutmeg. These are spices that I normally use in baking a pie or cobbler.
The spices were stored into the cut-up apples. I also added ½ cup of water so the bottom would not begin to burn. I placed some wood coals aside and placed the Dutch Oven onto them. Other coals were added to the top. I refreshed my coals every 30 minutes or so. The Apple Butter simmered and turned into a thick and pasty dark brown sauce. The more it cooked, the thicker it became. You can always add some water to thin it out if you prefer. I let the Dutch Oven simmer for several hours. As a dessert. I made fresh biscuits that the hungry campers used to smear their new Apple Butter on. For breakfast it was used on their toast and oatmeal. Fat and Full hunters are Happy Campers.
Apple Butter is best when it is smooth and requires a spoon to place on a piece of toast. You can refrigerate the Apple Butter for 3-4 weeks, but it rarely lasts long. Once campers taste it, the Butter Be Gone!
At home, I place loaded jars into a water bath for 20 minutes to seal the lids. This makes nice gifts or keeps well over the winter. I also run the apple butter through a blender to smooth the mixture out.
The rest of the story is…once I seeded the 6 pounds of crab apples, I planted them along the fields edge. There are now a few dozen new Crab Apple Trees to work with in the future. Looks like I need some more pie and cobbler recipes.
Montana Grant
