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 at least an hour, possibly more. Stir occasionally and be careful not to scorch the butter. To test for doneness, draw a rubber spatula through the middle. If the apple butter does not fill the resulting void, it’s probably done. Remove from the stove and cool (or spoon into sterilized jars). Spread on toast.