Apple Butter
- Joe S.
- Jan 19, 2022
- 6 min read
Updated: Jan 21, 2022
Learn how to make this delicious six-ingredients apple spread!
Prep time: about 20 minutes
Cooking time: 12 to 18 hours
Yields: about 10 to 12 cups
Gluten/Soy/Nuts/Dairy free
Vegetarian/Vegan
Apple Butter... creamy and flavorful. Perfect companion for toasts, biscuits, or muffins. This apple reduction is a good breakfast choice to add a little bit of both sweetness and tartness to every bite.
Apple butter is quite easy to make and requires only six ingredients: apples, refined white sugar, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. One extra ingredient is also needed and that is patience. It takes anywhere from 12 to 18 hours to make, and that is the catalyst that ensures a dark color and deep flavor.
Apple Butter is 100% gluten free, dairy free, nuts free, soy free, vegetarian, and vegan!
For this particular recipe I use a slow cooker. All I do is peel and core the apples, mix all the ingredients together in the slow cooker... and forget about it for about 12 to 18 hours. Pretty simple yet delicious!
What is Apple Butter?
Apple butter is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by long, slow cooking of apples with cider or water to a point where the sugar in the apples caramelizes, turning the apple butter a deep brown. The concentration of sugar gives apple butter a much longer shelf life as a preserve than apple sauce.
What ingredients will I need to make Apple Butter?
Apples, white and brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt.
What else will I need to make this?
A slow cooker, a blender/food processor/inversion blender, a peeler, a sharp knife, an apple corer, measuring cups and spoons, a cutting board, and a wooden spoon.
What kind of apples are used to make Apple Butter?
Different types of apples can be used for the production of apple butter. Apples are chosen based on their physical and chemical properties – such as hardness, sweetness, acidity/tartness, etc. Soft apples are often chosen for the production of apple butter because they can be broken down more easily and faster when cooked. These types of apples include: McIntosh (soft, creamy), Cortland (soft, sweet-and-tart, all-purpose), Granny Smith (tartness sweetens upon cooking, ideal complement to savory and salty foods).
Can I make additions?
You can add 1/4 cup of water or apple cider to the mix.
You can also add some 1 tablespoon of lemon or lime juice to enhance the natural tartness of the sweet apples.
Last but not least, you could add other spices (star anise, cloves, nutmeg, etc.)
Can I make substitutions?
You can use Muscovado sugar instead of dark brown sugar.
You can use Caster Sugar instead of refined white sugar.
How do I store the Apple Butter?
Apple butter is typically packaged in the same way whether it is prepared in a factory setting or made at home. It can be packaged mechanically in jars or cans through the use of machinery.
Apple butter is a product created as a means of preserving apples. Due to its high acidity, high sugar content and low amounts of free water, an opened package can be kept for months at room temperature without spoiling. Nevertheless, there are numerous methods that can be used for the storage of apple butter. No method is 100% dependable, as there is always a chance of the presence of bacteria or other microorganisms within the food itself, on the storage equipment or in the storage facility.
Typically, the jars are sterilized before packaging to ensure no harmful microorganisms or bacteria will infect the product, causing it to spoil. Ideally, jars are sterilized using a combination of high temperature heating and ensuring a tight seal.
Apples are a high acid food, with a pH below 4.6. Therefore, the apple butter can be placed in hot jars without chances of compromising quality of the product.
The main sources of spoilage, molds, yeasts and enzymes, are killed at the temperatures reached in the hot water bath during the sterilization process for cans and jars. The spoilage microorganisms in acid foods can be destroyed in a small amount of time at temperatures below that of boiling water, so there is little risk of microorganisms appearing in the food product itself.
Freezing jars of apple butter can help to maintain quality and inhibit bacterial growth. This storage method does not destroy pre-existing microorganisms that may be present in the product, so it is important to be wary when consuming previously frozen product.
Boiling jars during the sterilization process. Applying high temperatures over a specified period of time can not only aid in the sterilization of the jars or cans used in packaging, but it can help maximize the storage time of the apple butter or other products. Boiling the jars will remove the oxygen remaining in the jar, which forms a tight seal between the lid and the rim. The heat used for this method of canning can be sufficient to kill bacterial cells found in the food. Only high-acid food with a pH of 4.6 or less can be processed using the boiling water bath method. This is because high-acid foods prevent the growth of spores of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, which cannot be killed by boiling. Foods with a pH of more than 4.6 can allow the spores to grow.
Vacuum Sealing. Similar to the boiling process, vacuum sealing jars or cans of apple butter can remove remaining oxygen in the jar, forming a tight seal. The vacuuming process can be done in both a large-scale factory manner or at home with a mechanical vacuum sealer. Special devices, such as a vacuum pack sealer, can be fitted with specific jar attachments to fit over the lid of a jar and create a secure fit.
Pressurization. Low-acid foods can be processed in a pressure canner to get rid of the risk of botulism; however, this treatment is not necessary for high-acid foods such as apple butter. Apple butter does not require sterilization at extremely high temperatures to reach optimum storage and maintain quality, so the pressure canning process is not typically used for this product.
SOME USEFUL INFORMATION
What is the difference between Apple Sauce and Apple Butter?
The differences are found in the consistency of the final product, color , flavor, and cooking times. Apple sauce just needs to be cooked until the apples are soft enough to be pureed, while apple butter needs to be cooked until the apples brown, break down and thicken. As a result of its long cooking time, apple butter is a much darker, caramel brown color, while apple sauce is usually a lighter golden color. Apple sauce has a more liquid consistency while apple butter is thicker and is more spreadable.
What kind of apples are used to make Apple Butter?
Different types of apples can be used for the production of apple butter. Apples are chosen based on their physical and chemical properties – such as hardness, sweetness, acidity/tartness, etc. Soft apples are often chosen for the production of apple butter because they can be broken down more easily and faster when cooked. These types of apples include: McIntosh (soft, creamy), Cortland (soft, sweet-and-tart, all-purpose), Granny Smith (tartness sweetens upon cooking, ideal complement to savory and salty foods).
Origins of Apple Butter
The roots of apple butter lie in Limburg (Belgium and the Netherlands) and Rhineland (Germany), conceived during the Middle Ages, when the first monasteries (with large orchards) appeared. The production of the butter was a perfect way to conserve part of the fruit production of the monasteries in that region, at a time when almost every village had its own apple-butter producers. The production of apple butter was also a popular way of using apples in colonial America, well into the 19th century.
Is there dairy in Apple Butter?
The product contains no actual dairy butter; the term butter refers only to the butter-like thick, soft consistency, and apple butter's use as a spread for breads. Sometimes seasoned with cinnamon, clove, and other spices, apple butter is usually spread on bread, used as a side dish, an ingredient in baked goods, or as a condiment. Apple butter may also be used on sandwiches to add an interesting flavor, but is not as commonly used as in historical times.
Are there other ingredients that can added to Apple Butter?
Vinegar or lemon juice is sometimes mixed in while cooking to provide a small amount of tartness to the usually sweet apple butter. The Pennsylvania Dutch often include apple butter as part of their traditional 'seven sweets and seven sours' dinner table array.
What can I use Apple Butter for?
Apple butter can be used as a spread for bread, as a fat substitute in reduced-fat or fat-free cooking, as well as vegan recipes.
Ingredients
10 lbs of mixed apples, washed, peeled, cored, and chopped
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of refined white sugar
3/8 teaspoon of salt
1/2 tablespoon of vanilla
1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon
Method
Wash, peel, core, and chop the apples.
Add all the ingredients in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 12 hours.
Transfer the contents onto a food processor or blende. Blitz until purée. Return to the slow cooker and cook for another 2 to 4 hours to achieve your desired consistency.
Enjoy!!!
Download and Print this Recipe (PDF File)
Comments