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

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

Read more…