PREP: 45 minutes COOK: 2 hours PROCESS: 5 minutes MAKES: 6 half-pints
4½ lb. tart cooking apples (about 14 medium)
3 cups apple cider or apple juice
2 cups granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1. Quarter and core unpeeled apples. In an 8- to 10-qt. heavy pot (tip, page 228) combine apples and cider. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 30 to 35 minutes or until apples are very tender, stirring frequently.
2. Place a food mill over a large bowl. Ladle apple mixture into food mill; press the mixture into the bowl. Discard peels and seeds. Measure 7½ cups pulp; return pulp to pot. (If you have leftover apple mixture, simply chill it and serve as applesauce.)
3. Stir in sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cook, uncovered, over very low heat 1½ to 1¾ hours or until mixture is very thick and mounds on a spoon, stirring frequently.
4. Ladle hot apple butter into six hot sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving a ¼-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands.
5. Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner 5 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling). Remove jars from canner; cool on wire racks. (Canning tips, pages 461–466.)
Apple-Pear Butter: Prepare as directed, except substitute 2 lb. cored, quartered ripe pears for 2 lb. of the apples.
Caramel Apple Butter: Prepare as directed, except decrease granulated sugar to ½ cup and add 1½ cups packed brown sugar.
Freezer Directions: Prepare as directed through Step 2. Place pot of apple butter in a sink filled with ice water; stir mixture to cool. Ladle into wide-top freezer containers, leaving a ½-inch headspace. Seal and label. Freeze up to 10 months. Apple butter might darken slightly after freezing. (Freezing tips, page 467.)
PER 1 TBSP. APPLE BUTTER, PLAIN OR VARIATIONS: 28 cal., 0 g fat, 0 mg chol., 0 mg sodium, 7 g carb., 0 g fiber, 0 g pro.
1. Cook the apples until they are very tender and can be easily pierced with a fork. Very tender fruit produces the smoothest butters.
2. Puree the cooked apples in a food mill. As you turn the handle, the pureed fruit flows into the bowl, leaving behind the skins and seeds.
3. Cook the butter over very low heat. Long, slow cooking evaporates the liquid and concentrates the flavors. Watch carefully—fruit butters scorch easily, especially when they begin to thicken.