There are several varieties of crabapple trees.  They create beautiful flowers in the spring and are great pollinators for apple trees.  Many people wonder if the crab apples themselves are edible.  The answer is yes.

Crabapple trees are related to the apple tree family.  And yes, all crab apples are edible (but not all crab apples taste all that great).  For the ones that don't taste very good, you can make them taste good through cooking and adding sugar (or sweetener).  In fact, crab apples are often used to make jams, jellies, and crabapple sauce.  Depending on the size of crab apples that are produced, producing the jams, jellies, or sauces might not be worth the effort.  They may be too tart for some people, but the fruit is edible.

For the crabapple fanatics, feel free to share your crabapple recipes with the rest of the forum.  This may convince some crabapple tree owners that they are not a nuisance, but a great resource for tasty treats!