Date: Thu, 15 Sep 94 12:10:59 PDT
From: Peter_Brooks (pb@hpocia.sj.hp.com)
Apple Butter Recipes, 1 (T), one not
The following is abstracted from two sources: 1) _The Ball Blue Book_,
Ball Canning Company, no ISBN number, and 2) an old Rival Crockpot
recipe book.
The base recipe is tested, but as I said yesterday, you can get into
trouble with apple butter geysers. I did notice that Ball recommends
that one use a wide, shallow pan for making preserves; this would tend
to reduce the excitement for the stovetop recipe.
Old-Fashioned Apple Butter according to Ball (T),
6 pounds of apples
2 cups sweet cider
3 cups sugar [approximate; see below]
1.5 tsp cinnamon
0.5 tsp ground cloves
Wash and quarter apples. [Don't bother to core or peel. Whew!]. Combine
with cider and cook until tender. Press through a food mill or a sieve
[I use a 'mill' that looks like a conical colander, with a wooden
pestle. Does a good job on apples and a so-so job on pumpkin.] Measure
3 quarts of puree.
Start cooking the puree, stirring 'frequently' [for my pot it was
close to constantly 'til I got a flame diffuser] until a spoonfull of
puree stays rounded.
Add the sugar and spices.
Cook til thick.
Pour into pint jars, keeping 1/4 " headspace. Process for 10 minutes in
a boiling water bath. (I do, but I also vote Republican.)
Yields 3 pints.
Slightly newer fashioned Fruit Butter from Rival. (Haven't tried this,
but it looks plausible. Apple butter is forgiving.)
Start with the same amount of fruit and cider. Cook until tender (stove
top or via crock) and process into puree as above. Measure 3 quarts
of puree, the sugar and spices into the crockpot. Cook for 8-10 hours
on High, uncovering for the last 30 minutes. Stir occasionally; it
may stick, but it won't burn (says Rival). If it's not thick enough,
turn down to Low and cook uncovered overnight.
Process through canner as before.
kwvegan vegan