- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Cook time: 2 hours
- Yield: Makes a little more than 3 pint jars.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs of good cooking apples
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar {I did not use vinegar.}
- 2 cups water {I used only about ¼ cup water. See NOTE.}
- Sugar, about 4 cups, (After cooking and pureeing, add ½ cup of sugar for each cup of apple pulp)
- Salt – a dash
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon allspice {I used ½ teaspoon nutmeg instead.}
- Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
Cut the apples into quarters, without peeling or coring them (much
of the pectin is in the cores and flavor in the peels), cut out damaged parts.
{I did core my apples.}
Cooking
the Apples
Put them into large pot, add the
vinegar and water, cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cook until
apples are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
Note: I put all
my apples in a large pot (see photo), adding about ¼ cup of water, and placed
the pot to cook over a very low heat until the juices from the apples were
released.
Measure
the purée and add the sugar and spices
Ladle cooked apples and liquid into
a blender (about 2 cups at a time). Measure resulting puree. Add ½ cup of sugar
for each cup of apple pulp. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add a dash of salt, and the
cinnamon, ground cloves, allspice, lemon rind and juice. Taste and adjust
seasonings if necessary.
Cooking
the Purée
Cook uncovered in a large, wide,
thick-bottomed pot on medium low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning.
Scrape the bottom of the pot while you stir to make sure a crust is not forming
at the bottom. Cook until thick and smooth (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 purée 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.)
Canning
There are several ways to sterilize
your jars for canning. You can run them through a short cycle on your
dishwasher. You can place them in a large pot (12 quart) of water on top of a
steaming rack (so they don't touch the bottom of the pan), and bring the water
to a boil for 10 minutes. Or you can rinse out the jars, dry them, and place
them, without lids, in a 200°F oven for 10 minutes.
Pour into hot, sterilized
jars and seal. If you plan to store the apple butter unrefrigerated, make sure
to follow proper canning procedures. Before applying the lids, sterilize the
lids by placing them in a bowl and pouring boiling water over them. Wipe the
rims of the jars clean before applying the lids. I use a hot water bath for 10 minutes to
ensure a good seal.
Read more: Apple Butter Recipe
