From a handout from Fedco Trees that we picked up at the Apple event yesterday
4 quarts crabapples cut in half
4 C granulated sugar
26 oz vodka
Fill 4 quart container 3/4 full with crabapples. Pour sugar over top. Add vodka. Add remaining crabapples. Put lid on. Let stand on counter or in cupboard.
Turn jar upside down then right side up once a day for one week. Let stand one month. Strain through a sieve. Discard apples. Strain liqueur through four layers of cheesecloth. Makes approx. 6 cups.
I started that recipe on Oct. 15, but filled a 350 ml jar rather than a gallon jar, and only used about 4 oz of vodka.
That’s what it looked like a week later. There’s much more liquid and much less crabapple than there was at the start; see the comment. The jar was pretty much packed full of crabapples at the start.
If it’s much of any good, I’ll try a bigger jar next year. Goodness knows there were enough crabapples. It takes time to cut them in half, though.
A week later, the crabapples had shrunk and a much bigger proportion of the jar was filled with liquid. I guess the osmotic pressure draws liquid out of the apples. A photo is in order.