Apples of all sorts have been eaten by man since the dawn of time.
It has always been a symbol of fruitfulness and plenty. Of all trees, apples were considered the most magical.
To sleep under an apple tree rendered one liable to be carried off by the fairies.
A single spray of apple blossom flowering among ripe apples warns of the death of one of the family.
Apples were also used in experiments for love and favour. To test the fidelity of a lover, place an apple pip in the fire and say his name. If the lover is faithful the pip will make a noise as it burst with the heat, but if he is not the pip will burn away silently.
Its name may come from the word ‘crabbed’ meaning ‘of awkward character’ - as it is a stunted tree giving poor fruit. |
The crab apple recolonised Britain after the Ice Age and is therefore regarded as a native British tree.
Small, bitter, hard and generally insignificant though its fruit may be, the humble wild crab apple is still sought after for jam and jelly making in autumn. It contains a lot of ‘pectin’ - a substance needed for jam to set.
The wild crab apple is related distantly to our tasty dessert apples, like cox, as many of them have been bred from the crab apple’s better– tasting European and Eurasian cousins. The crab still has a part to play as it provides the rootstock onto which the new varieties are grafted .
The wood of the crab apple is excellent for carving. It is very uniform in texture, and if dried slowly is suitable for the most delicate carving and engraving.
It is also excellent for burning. |
