Apple Butter (and Applesauce)
I loved apple butter when I was a kid, but I don’t think I’ve had it, or really even seen it, since. My mother would make it, as well as every other apple by-product known to man, after we went apple picking in the fall. This isn’t her recipe, but it tastes pretty much as I remember it. The recipe also produces its own by-product: applesauce!
Apple Butter (and Applesauce)
Applesauce
8 pounds tart apples (Macouns are my favorite)
½ cup water
Dark brown sugar to taste
Cinnamon to taste
Grated zest of two lemons (optional)
Core and quarter apples. Put in a large, heavy saucepan, add water, cover, and cook over low heat, circulating apples from time to time, until apples are very soft. Pass the cooked apples through a food mill. Reserve four cups for the apple butter and, for the applesauce, add sugar, cinnamon, and lemon zest to taste.
Apple Butter
4 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 ½ cup dark brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp allspice
Pinch of ground cloves
Juice and grated zest of one lemon
Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan and cook over low heat for approximately 4 hours. Stir occasionally and be careful not to scorch the butter. Remove from the stove and cool (or spoon into sterilized jars). Spread on toast.