Enjoying the Harvest: Apple Butter

Ah, October! It's the perfect time of year: beautiful blue-bowl skies, crisp mornings, warm afternoons, brightly colored trees, crunchy leaves, and best of all...APPLES! With more than 2,500 varieties grown in the US alone, and more than 7,000 worldwide, it's hard to get tired of them. You can have almost any color, flavor, or texture you like: red, yellow, green, crispy, tart, sweet, soft...the list could go on forever. And of course, who could say "no" to fresh apple cider?

One of my favorite fall condiments is apple butter. Enjoy it on toast, bagels, muffins, or even pancakes...it's a perfect snack, bursting with fall flavor. Most people think that only the Amish living in the northeast part of the state know how to make the world's best apple butter, but the truth is, anyone can make it...even you! All you need is a couple hours on a dreary afternoon, an apple corer, soup pot, and a blender.

The Ball Brothers

I've been making apple butter for 3 years now. I didn't used to be an apple connoisseur, but then I worked at the Minnetrista Cultural Center, home of the Ball family who founded a glass factory in Muncie in the 1880s. They eventually became famous for popularizing the Mason jar used in home preserving...and giving their name to my collegiate alma mater: Ball State University. 

Apples at the Minnetrista Orchard Shop

Minnetrista was the name of the eldest Ball brother's home, and at the turn of the century, it contained an orchard with more than 300 apple trees. That orchard is long gone today, but a new one is being grown in its place to teach students about apples. And Minnetrista's Orchard Shop is one of the best places around to buy local apples and fresh-pressed apple cider! Minnetrista has an industrial cider press on-site, and the staff presses fresh cider every week during the fall.

As I learned about different apple varieties, I discovered that a variety of apples is the key to making GREAT apple butter.  It's like wine; the more varieties you use, the better the overall flavor.  I've used as many as 6 apple varieties before, but you can use as few as 4. Mix them up between tart and sweet to get a nice blend of flavors! This year, my tart apples came from Minnetrista. I'm a fan of the Cortland, McIntosh, and Jonathan varieties, but Fugi, Ida Red, Braeburn, Granny Smith, and Winesap are all good tart varieties too. Actually, I've never tasted a tart apple I haven't liked...

My sweet apples came from my boss's grandfather's orchard in Alexandria, IN. Red and Golden Delicious are amazingly good sweet apple varieties, along with Jonagold, Gala, and Honeycrisp. I'm not as much of a fan of these varieties, but they make for great cooking!

MAKING APPLE BUTTER:

Here's a list of what you'll need. This recipe makes enough apple butter to fill 4 pint jars, but I don't recommend “cutting down” the recipe to make less...apple butter is one of those things best made in big batches. If 4 pints is more than you can eat in a month, can it! Don't worry if you don't know how; I'll teach you to do that in my next post, “Preserving the Harvest”.

• 15 medium to large apples
• 4 cups apple cider
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• ¾ tsp allspice
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt

First you'll want to wash, core, and cut your apples into bite-sized chunks. Cut out any bad/mushy parts, but spots/speckles or scars on the skin is fine. DO NOT PEEL the apples! The skin contains pectin, which makes the apple butter become jelly-like as you cook it down. 

Pour the apples and cider into a large soup pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to simmering (low or medium-low, depending on your stove). Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Your apples should be nice and soft now, and some may become separated from their skins.

If you've skipped ahead and already added the sugar and spices at this point, don't stress! I've done that for two years now, and my apple butter still tastes great! It really doesn't matter when the spices go in, as long as they get there eventually.

Blend the apple mixture in a blender/food processor until smooth. You'll want to do this in batches, so keep a large mixing bowl nearby. DO NOT fill your blender over halfway! It will overflow when you turn it on...and sticky, scalded hands are no fun! Keep in mind too, to cock the blender lid a bit so it doesn't pop off from the built-up steam. Cover the opening with a clean dishcloth to keep the apple mixture inside the blender, where it belongs.

Rinse the soup pot free of any large apple chunks. Return the blended apples to the soup pot, and add the sugars and spices. Mix well, and heat the mixture to boiling. Reduce the heat to low or medium-low, and cook for 1.5 to 4 hours. Stir every 30 minutes or so to prevent sticking and burning.

Feel free to leave the kitchen and do other things while the apple butter is cooking; it doesn't need your constant supervision. Just kick back, relax, and enjoy the smell of warm apple-cinnamon wafting through your house!

The duration of cooking depends on the consistency you want. The longer the apple butter cooks, the darker, thicker, and sweeter it becomes. Cooking the apples for a short time resembles applesauce, while a true apple butter is thick, and a rich mahogany color. You can cook your apple butter for as long as you like; I accidentally cooked mine for nearly 6 hours this year, and it still turned out great!

Enjoy!!