The Blue Ridge Mountain region boasts a rich heritage apple tradition, as the settlers of these highlands often either brought apple varieties from their country of origin or cultivated seedlings that happened to spring forth on their homesteads. The Dolgo crabapple falls in the former category arriving from Russia in the 1890s. Our ancestors appreciated the fact that if this variety could survive the harshness of Siberian winters, it surely could do the same here.
Elaine and I planted our Dolgo in 2009, and it was bearing fruit three years later and doing so abundantly by 2015. Dolgo comes from the Russian word for long, and the pomes have something of an oblong shape. But the most diagnostic aspect, I believe, of this tree is the copious amount of blooms that appear every April. Attracting vast numbers of bees of all kinds, our medium-size tree does a marvelous job of helping make sure our nearby garden’s plants are pollinated as well as the trees in the surrounding woodlot.
This crab’s flesh is white and flaunts a pleasing mixture of both sweet and tart. Another interesting trait is that the fruits start to ripen in early September, reach their peak flavor late in the month and can often be harvested well into October. Fascinatingly, the apples often remain on the tree into winter. I’ve noticed songbirds feasting on the still clinging crabs in January and observed deer pawing through the snow to reach them that month, too. Additionally, the Dolgo (and other crabs as well) flaunt large amounts of vitamin C as well as some omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.
My wife has prepared Dolgo crabapples in a wide variety of ways. My favorite way is in pies, but that’s a little misleading because my desired way to consume just about any variety of this fruit is in a pie. That said, crabapple pie is sublime and tastes a great deal, in my opinion, like sour cherry pie. Another scrumptious way to enjoy Dolgo crabs is in jelly, the amber colored jelly looks as enticing as it tastes. We’ve also used this variety in bread, pancakes, waffles and muffins. Elaine’s favorite way to utilize a Dolgo is in a bread pudding; the recipe is below. Note: to prepare crabapples for cooking, slice off the top, bottom and sides, then discard the core. It’s impractical to peel them.
Crabapple Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
- 8 slices of cinnamon-raisin bread cut into cubes
- 4 eggs
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 3 tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups half-and-half
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ¼ tsp. cinnamon
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 2 cups chopped and cored crabapples
- 2 tbsp. white sugar
Directions:
Place the cubed bread into a baking dish.
Whip the eggs. Add syrup, brown sugar, half-and-half, milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix well. Pour over cubed bread and chill in refrigerator for 4 hours or more.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare crabapples by chopping them. Place apples in a saucepan with butter and white sugar. Cook apples 7-10 minutes until slightly tender.
Pour apples over bread mix. Bake for 45-60 minutes until the liquid is set.
Bruce and Elaine Ingram are authors of Living the Locavore Lifestyle about hunting, fishing and gathering for food (with recipes) as well as raising chickens, fruit trees and a garden. For more information: bruceingramoutdoors@gmail.com.
