Featured here is one of the pie recipes that I would get from Keith Boyle, a longtime fixture at the Portland farmer’s market at Uncle’s Farm Stand. He passed on October 8th unexpectedly from a fatal heart attack.

Keith Boyle-- recent photo offered by Uncle's Farm owner Mike Farwell; inset; his Grandmother Gilbert's crabapple pie

Keith Boyle– recent photo offered by Uncle’s Farm owner Mike Farwell; inset; his Grandmother Gilbert’s crabapple pie

Over the years he would share his family’s recipes with me–both from his mother, Patty Boyle, who passed some years ago and his grandmother, Gladys Gilbert, 90. These are all old-fashioned farm recipes, some dating back many decades. This crabapple pie is typical of the great recipes Keith offered.

As American as crabapple pie?  Well, hardly, since this fruit doesn’t’ enjoy the same popularity as its larger cousin, the apple.  That’s a shame because crabapples are a sturdy little fruit with a distinctive taste that work beautifully in pies, jams (very high in pectin), chutneys and sauces.

Crabapples are a little difficult to work with because they’re so small.  They generally don’t need peeling; if you did, using the standard peeler might result in some nicked fingers. Actually it’s preferable to leave the skins on because they’re pectin rich and act as a natural thickener.

Gladys Gilbert's crabapple pie

Gladys Gilbert’s crabapple pie

The ingredients are fairly simple: crabapples, sugar, flour and butter.  I noticed, however, that Gilbert’s recipe didn’t call for the usual apple pie spices of cinnamon and nutmeg.  I was tempted to add them but decided to make the pie without alteration.  In fact the crabapples have so much flavor—faintly lemony—that anything else would mask their great flavor.

Some of the directions were a little vague in Gilbert’s handwritten recipe, however, and I altered it slightly where needed.  Preparing the fruit is somewhat time consuming because you need a lot of crabapples to yield 6 cups. Count on about 3 pounds or about 30 crabapples.

The crabapples should be cored, pitted and quartered after they’re steamed and here’s how to do it; because of their size they’re otherwise a bit messy to handle. Cut the apples in half.  The half containing the core and pits should be handled this way: cut the apple away from either side of core and pits; this will yield 2 to 3 small pieces.  Cut the remaining half in half again.  If you used an apple corer the fruit would fall apart. Put the small pieces into a large glass measure until you have 6 heaping cups.

Clockwise: the trimmings from around the core are discarded; cut pieces of crabappble in glass measure and the finished prep is to glaze the pie with an egg wash and sprinkling of sugar

Clockwise: the trimmings from around the core are discarded; the finished pie with the top crust and egg wash with sugar sprinkle  and cut pieces of crabappble in glass measure

Because the raw crabapples are so hard, they’re steamed for several minutes before using.  I thought this was an interesting step, and in researching other crabapple pie recipes, I found this to be standard in other recipes.

One final flavor feature is this: According to Keith, his grandmother’s secret ingredient is brown sugar sprinkled over the crabapple mixture once it’s assembled in the pie shell. Also, I added about 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract to the apple mixture; this is optional, according to preference.

Gilbert's recipe calls for adding that last touch, a sprinkling of brown sugar over the crabapples

Gilbert’s recipe calls for adding that last touch, a sprinkling of brown sugar over the crabapples

Let the pie rest for about 30 minutes before serving, allowing the filling to set.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.