Crab Apple Preserves

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My grandmother Olha made a wonderfully delicious crab apple preserve. We had a lovely garden, but those little apples didn't grow there. Not far from us lived an elderly Polish woman whom we were a little afraid of, and in her yard grew a magnificent small tree with long branches sweeping all the way down to the ground, laden with crab apples. There were always so many of them — tiny and brilliantly red. Grandmother would always ask me and my sister to go and pick them for the preserve. The old lady would always welcome us warmly into her yard, asking only that we not break the branches. When we brought the crab apples home, grandmother would wash them, and once they had dried she would call us into the kitchen, hand us pins, and show us how to prick the apples without snapping off their little stems. These tiny apples grandmother kept for decorating cakes, and she would also serve them at the festive table in a small bowl. They had a beautiful fragrance and were simply wonderful to eat. One jar of the preserve was always given as a gift to that dear lady.

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