Okay, I know that Adrianna already spilled the beans. I am no longer living with my boyfriend in LA. No, I am now living with my FIANCE, which by the way, I’m still having trouble  saying to people. Fiance is one of those words that seems a little too big and surreal to say out loud. It’s a word that says that I am NEVER going to have a boyfriend ever again, which makes me feel grown up in ways I never thought possible. It also means that I, the girl that has never worn rings throughout her entire life, now has a ring that is never going to come off, and I’m actually okay with this.

There’s something else that I have to tell you is never going to happen again. I am never making apple butter again. Never. Again. I know, it must be a rare blog post when the author confesses that although the final product turned out perfectly, she has no desire whatsoever to return to it. To fully understand this, I need to explain my reasoning for making apple butter in the first place. When Adrianna and I made the fig jam a couple months back, I was stunned at how easy it was to make. I couldn’t help but ask, “Why haven’t I been making my own jam all my life?” So for Christmas I decided I would make a homemade canned gift for friends and family, and after much debate I chose to take on apple butter.

However, it turns out that apple butter and jam are two entirely different beasts. To make jam, you cut up fruit, throw it in a pot with water and sugar and cook it down for an hour or so, checking the pot occasionally. It’s actually pretty hard to screw up. Apple butter, on the other hand, requires first one hour of cooking, until the apples are soft enough for you to grind them and remove all of the seeds, skin and other impurities. After you’ve grinded apples long enough that your arm is sore and throbbing, you put the resulting apple puree back in the pot and cook it for another 2 hours during which you have to stand over the pot and constantly attend to it.

Imagine that first you babysat a 6 year old who just wanted you to put in her favorite Disney movie, after which she sat peacefully until her parents returned. Now imagine that you then you moved on to care for a screaming infant with colic. This is what I felt like after two hours over the pot of apples, thinking, “what more do you want from me, apples?? I’ve mashed you and stirred you for hours and you’re still not right! What else can I do?!”

So why am I writing about this if I’m never going to make it again? Because, at the end of the day, I did end up with some tasty apple butter. And if you’re looking for ways to kill 4 hours of your day or if maybe you’re just a glutton for punishment, this may still be a recipe you would enjoy. But mostly, it’s because when I was looking through all the different recipes for apple butter out there, not ONE of them mentioned just how difficult this would be, and I feel like someone has to be honest with you. Someone has to speak the truth.

Apple Butter

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Print this recipe!

4 lbs of good cooking apples
1 cup apple cider vinegar2 cups water
Sugar (about 4 cups, see cooking instructions)
Salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

Cut the apples into quarters, without peeling or coring them (much of the pectin is in the cores and flavor in the peels), but be sure to cut out damaged parts. Put them into large pot, add the vinegar and water, cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cook until apples are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat .

Ladle apple mixture into a sieve (or foodmill) and using a pestle force pulp from the sieve into a large bowl below. This will cause your arm to turn to jello, but hey, you wanted real apple butter, right? Measure resulting puree. Add 1/2 cup of sugar for each cup of apple pulp. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add a dash of salt, and the cinnamon, ground cloves, allspice, lemon rind and juice. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Cook, uncovered, in a large, wide, thick-bottomed pot on medium low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. (yes, CONSTANTLY!) Scrape the bottom of the pot while you stir to make sure a crust is not forming at the bottom. Cook until thick and smooth when a bit is spooned onto a cold plate and allowed to cool (1 to 2 hours).

Canning

(directions are also from Simply Recipes)

Print these directions!

There are several ways to sterilize your jars for canning. You can run them through a short cycle on your dishwasher. You can place them in a large pot (12 quart) of water on top of a steaming rack (so they don’t touch the bottom of the pan), and bring the water to a boil for 10 minutes. Or you can rinse out the jars, dry them, and place them, without lids, in a 200°F oven for 10 minutes. I chose to put them in the water since I had to heat it up to can the puree anyway.

Pour the apple butter into hot, sterilized jars and seal. If you plan to store the apple butter un-refrigerated, make sure to follow proper canning procedures. Before applying the lids, sterilize the lids by placing them in a bowl and pouring boiling water over them. Wipe the rims of the jars clean before applying the lids. I use a hot water bath for 10 minutes to ensure a good seal. Now, enjoy that this process is finally over, and laugh at yourself for ever deciding to do it in the first place.

6 Responses to “Apple Butter”

1. Cafe Pasadena says:

   December 26, 2009 at

   I’m hope your fiance is good for your finances. Congrats & many happy sweet eatings together!

   btw/blt: Does this mean, while you can Never have a boyfriend again, he can still have a girlfriend?
2. Sally says:

   December 27, 2009 at

   Congratulations on your engagement!

   There are easier ways of making apple butter.
3. Caroline says:

   December 27, 2009 at

   CP – I certainly hope he’s never going to have a girlfriend again!

   Sally – what would be an easier way to make this? I couldn’t find anything anywhere!
4. CookTeen says:

   December 27, 2009 at

   Congrats on the engagement! Apple butter looks amazing!!!

   With love and cupcakes,
   Cookteen

   P.S –check out my blog…Cookteen.blogspot.com
5. megan says:

   December 28, 2009 at

   this post made me laugh! Thanks for being honest I thought about making apple butter at one point, but never got around to it. now i’m glad!

   congratulations
6. heather says:

   July 13, 2010 at

   i make my apple butter in the crock pot. so much easier, so little work! it’s been christmas gifts for family/friends for the last two years, and everyone loves it!