What are crab apples?

Crab apples are tiny, tart fruits that grow on crab apple trees, which are like little cousins to regular apple trees.

Imagine you have a basket of apples, the ones you eat with your lunch. Now picture another basket filled with much smaller apples, almost like berries, and they’re not sweet at all, they’re sour! That’s what crab apples are like. They grow on crab apple trees, which look kind of like regular apple trees but a bit scruffier.

Sometimes people pick crab apples to make juice or jam, because even though they’re sour, they can taste really good when you mix them with sugar or other fruits. It’s like turning lemon juice into lemonade, sour becomes sweet!

You might also see them on the ground under a crab apple tree, looking like little red marbles. If you’ve ever picked berries in the woods, finding crab apples is kind of like that, except they’re not soft and squishy, they're more firm and crunchy.

Crab apples are nature’s version of a snack that’s a little different, just like how your favorite cookie can sometimes be a bit too sweet, but still fun to eat!