Crabs Forestall Crabbiness

Some years ago we lived in a small house tucked under a headland with a deep channel on one side and a harbor bay on the other. The bluff on that side was too steep to build on so it was turned into a nicely wooded waterside park. Among the trees were two or three old crab apples which I visited every fall to start preparations for the holidays. This year I came across a nice display of crabs in the local grocery store.

Pickled Crabs

Wash a dozen or so crabs and remove the blossom end. Leave the stems on.
mix a sweet sour pickle of 1 cup of vinegar (cider or wine is best, thinks I.) with a cup to two cups (dependent on taste) of mixed brown and white sugar. Add a cinnamon stick, some whole cloves and a star anise.
Bring to a boil. After two minutes, slowly add the crabs so the syrup keeps boiling.
When the crabs are cooked (about five minutes) remove from heat and pack into jars. Seal if you mean to keep them longer than a week on the shelf. Else refrigerate until gone. Not long.

This is also time to look for the fresh glace fruits and this year's nuts to start your fruit cake. That post is coming soon.
--ml
tags: Feast of Holidays. crab apples