Apple Butter

There is apple butter cooking in my kitchen. It fills our home with the scents of Fall -- nutmeg and cloves and Cortland apples. It reminds me of peeling apples the day before, Jack seated across from me, handing me large, purple-skinned fruit and sampling each one's white flesh. Three-year-old jibber-jabber broken by the snapping of apple between his teeth and flashes of sweet, brown-eyed smiles.  

It reminds me of apple pie-making on Tuesday. Jack's feet pounding quickly through the house as he hears the scraping of my flour jar's lid. He pulls a chair across the floor and is quickly at my elbow, sneaking pieces of pie dough and asking to help. He is soon rolling out his own disk of scraps, smiling broadly as he tells me he is making "pie." 

It reminds me of a day spent at the arboretum. Sunshine kissing our heads as we trek through leaf-littered fields, eyes alert for brightly-colored specimens to place in our basket. Yellow birch and brilliant maples. Nut-brown oaks and mottled sassafras. We stand on the bridge, cut stone arcing across leaf-dappled water. Jack perches on the edge and throws a small, yellow leaf with all his little-boy might. It dances crazily in the air before settling casually on the surface, landing not nearly far enough from where he threw it. We come home and assemble our collection into a leaf man, who fiercely guards the entrance to our fridge. 

It reminds me of going to the orchard. The hot sun causing us to sweat as we walk down the twisting dirt road to the row labeled Macoun. Emma sits in the grass, contemplating a nearby rotting apple while Jack reaches low and over to grab the biggest one he can find, dangling from a laden branch. He gently sets it into the waiting bag which Emma promptly knocks down, climbs astride and straddles under her chubby legs. Hungry from the effort, we make our way back to sit on the porch, eating our sandwiches and sharing a jug of orchard-made cider. We chug straight from the container between mouthfuls of sugar-sprinkled cider doughnuts. 

It reminds me of Autumn. 

Apple Butter

Makes 4 pints

Total Time: 7 - 8 hours

8 cups unsweetened applesauce

4 cups sugar

4 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp allspice

1 - 2 tsp ground cloves

You'll also need:

a canner (or large pot)

tongs

a ladle

4 to 5 pint sized jars

Cook apples down and process through a food mill. 

I detail how to do this in my post on applesauce. 

Follow all the steps for applesauce, except for adding cinnamon and sugar at the end. 

Stir in sugar and spices. 

Pour ingredients into crockpot. Cook, uncovered, on high for 6 - 7 hours, until thickened. 

Stir occasionally to keep skin from forming on the top.

Ladle hot into pint jars and process in a canner or freeze. 

To Can:

Wash 4 pint-sized jars and lids/rings. Then sanitize them by steeping them in boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove carefully from boiling water.

I like to hold the tongs with towel in case hot water runs down them. 

Immediately ladle hot apple butter into the hot jars.

Wipe off any spillage on the rim. 

Cap with lids and tighten the rings. 

Place filled jars back into the hot water. Bring water to a boil and boil according to elevation

5 minutes if you are under 1,000 ft above sea level

10 minutes for 1,000 - 6,000 ft above sea level

15 minutes if 6,000 ft above seal level

Carefully remove from the canner (easiest with canning tongs) and let sit on the counter until completely cool. You should hear the jars pop when the seal. Press on the lids to make sure they have sealed. The "dimple" should be pressed in. If not, your jars have not sealed and they will not keep. Place in the fridge to use right away or toss in the freezer. 

If you are new to canning and would like more information on safe practices and methods, visit the website for the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Recipe from From Judy's Kitchen.