Apple Butter
Apple Butter
I have several friends who actually wait for me to make Apple Butter in batches that I give as gifts. In September and October, it’s apple harvest time. This year our very old apple tree produced apples for the first time in years. So armed with 4 kilos (8 pounds) of our homegrown apples it was time to make a childhood favorite. Available in jars back home, it’s an easy recipe to make at home and wonderful on your buttered toast or with your yogurt in the mornings. Strange as it may sound there is no butter in Apple Butter. This will keep in the fridge for several months.
Of course, apples are available all year so feel free to make this anytime you like. Apple sauce apples are best, soft varieties.
I am translating this recipe from pounds and ounces to metric measurements.
Apple Butter
Ingredients
- 2 kilos apples most firm apples work fine with this recipe,
- 2.5 dl apple cider vinegar
- 5 dl dark brown sugar Farin sukar
For every liter of of apple puree
- 5 dl dark brown and white sugar half and half
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tbsp ground cloves
- ½ teas ground allspice
- 1 lemon grated zest and juice (strained)
Instructions
- Wash all the apples, remove the stems. Cut up the apples into 6 pieces. You do not need to peel or core the apples.
- In a heavy-bottomed pot with a lid. Put in all the apples and add the cider vinegar and the brown sugar.
- Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for about ½ hour until all the apples have broken down to into a puree.
- Remove from the heat and push the puree´ through a strainer to remove the skins and seeds.
- Measure the puree - for every 5 dl add 2.5 dl of brown and white sugar. That's half brown and white sugar measuring 2.5 dl together.
- Add all the spices and return to the heat and bring up to a simmer.
- Once hot, pour the puree into a long oven-proof dish and place in a 120 degrees C oven for about 2 hours to thicken.
- Once the apple butter has thickened remove from the oven and place clean jars in the oven for 10-15 minutes to sterilize. Once done fill the jars, I use a metal funnel made for filling jelly jars. Fill to 1 cm from the top. Screw on the caps and allow to cool. Then refrigerate.
- I have kept these in the fridge for at least 6 months. The sugar content is so high that they keep very well.
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