What is Apple Butter?
Apple butter is made by slowly cooking pureed apples for over an hour. The sugars in the apples caramelize as the puree cooks, giving the apple butter its rich, sweet flavor and dark color. In contrast to what the name implies, there is no “butter” in apple butter. The name comes from its smooth and buttery texture. Apple butter is delicious on buttered toast.
Apple Cores Add Pectin for Body
Although apple butter takes time to make, the upfront part is easy. You do not have to peel or core the apples. The pectin for firming up the resulting apple butter resides mostly in the cores and there is a lot of flavor in the apple peels. After the first cooking, these parts get discarded as the pulp is run through a food mill. This recipe produces a traditional apple butter, which is both sweet and sour, the addition of cider vinegar just intensifying the flavor and giving it its tangy edge. It’s seasoned with cinnamon, cloves, allspice and lemon.
Alternatives to Stovetop Cooking
Don’t love standing at the stove stirring for ages? These two methods are way more hands-off.
Microwave: Instead of cooking the seasoned puree on the stovetop in Step 5, cook it uncovered in a microwave, on medium heat setting to simmer, for around 30 minutes. If you do this, monitor the cooking every 5 or 10 minutes. Microwaves vary in their power.Slow cooker: In Step 5, transfer the seasoned puree to a slow cooker. Cook on low with the lid ajar (lay spoons across the cooker and set the lid on top) so steam can escape. Stir once every hour or so. Depending on your cooker, it could take up to 5 hours for the apple butter to cook down.
Storing and Freezing Apple Butter
Fresh apple butter will keep in the fridge for at least couple of weeks, if not longer.Sealed, water-bathed canned jars of apple butter will keep for years in the pantry (they’re best used within a year, though). Once opened, they’ll also keep for weeks in the refrigerator.Frozen apple butter will keep up to a year.
More Recipes for Peak Apple Season
Apple Cobbler Mile-High Deep Dish Apple Pie Homemade Applesauce Apple Carrot Cupcakes Baked Apples
Gravenstein are the best apples to use for apple butter, if you can find them. They usually ripen mid summer. Granny Smiths work well too. We offer detailed directions for water bath canning in the recipe below, but please note: For this recipe to be safe for canning, the sugar levels should not be reduced lower than to 1/3 cup sugar per 1 cup apple pulp. Cook until thick, smooth, and dark brown in color (about 1 to 2 hours). A small bit spooned onto a chilled (in the freezer) plate will be thick, not runny. You can also cook the puree on low heat, stirring only occasionally, but this will take much longer as stirring encourages evaporation. (Note the wider the pan the better, as there is more surface for evaporation.) If you went with the lower amount of sugar, taste the apple butter and add a little more sugar if you think it needs it. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Wash the lids in hot, soapy water. Lower the jars into the boiling water bath. If needed, add enough water to cover the tops of the jars with at least 1 inch of water. When the water returns to a boil, process in the water bath for 10 minutes. Remove the jars from the water bath and set on a clean dishtowel. As the jars cool, you should hear the lids “popping” as they seal the jars. Did you love this recipe? Give us some stars below!
