16 cup apple puree
1 cup apple cider
4 cup sugar, granulated
4 cup brown sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
Directions
This same recipe can be used to make apple, grape, peach, pear or
plum butters. In general use 1 cup fruit pulp to 1/2 cup sugar.
Spice to taste and cook slowly. To make apple butter, use tart
cooking apples, not the sweet eating varieties. If sweet apples are
all you have to use, reduce the sugar by 1/3 to 1/2.
Wash, quarter and core the unpeeled fruit. Place in a heavy
kettle with just enough water to prevent scorching. Cook until soft,
stirring frequently, and press through a food mill. Mix ingredients
in a heavy kettle and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until
thick. When ready, a spoonful put on a plate should hold its shape
and not 'weep' liquid around the edges of the mound after sitting for
five minutes. This usually takes about two hours of cooking but can
take as long as four, so plan this project for a day when you have
other things to do in the kitchen. Don't try and hurry the process as
the mixture can easily burn and burned apple butter is only good for
the compost pile. Stir frequently, and if possible use a 'heat
difuser' between the burner and the kettle.
Oven Method: Cook the fruit butter in a roasting pan in a 250 -
300 F. oven until thick; may take 6 to 8 hours. Stir occasionally.
It needs less stirring this way but uses take much more energy and
can be awkward to stir.
Crockpot Method: Put ingredients in crockpot and cook, uncovered,
for about 12 hours, stirring occasionally, until it passes the test
given above.
When finished, pack into jars per standard canning methods and
process pints 5 minutes or quarts 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.
Adapted from 12 Months Harvest, Ortho Books, by Linda Shogren
Servings: 10 servings
Apple Butter/3 Methods Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Apple; Crock Pot; Crockpot; Fruit
The History of Recipes
Historians have tracked the existance of recipes way back into ancient history, certainly as far as the Egypt of the Pharoahs, and possibly even further. Interesting though that is, sadly, these ancient recipes were just very simple pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for meal preparation.
Fascinatingly, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to experts in ancient history is a series of tablets in the Sumerian language which describe the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making people feel `blissful`. During the time of the Roman Empire a man called Apicius compiled some documents detailing recipes prepared by the Romans. In his scrolls, he describes how the meals were separated into appetizers, entrees and afters, something we still use today. Aspicius also informs us how the ancient chefs were skilled in the use of a good variety of herbs and spices, including a few that are still present in modern kitchens for example basil, fennel and dill. Over the following few hundred years, the wealthy families of Europe competed to lay on the most extravagent banquests, and because of this cooks and their collection of recipes increased in prestige. However, it was during the 1800s the formal cooking and recipe collections rose to prominence. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, devoted much of their lives to collecting, verifying, and recording the recipes of their peers. By the arrival of the 20th century, recipe books were highly popular as a result of higher levels of literacy, more free time and a general increase in wealth. |
We hope you enjoy this Apple Butter_3 Methods recipe.
