Homemade Apple Butter

There are a plethora of autumn foods that get my nostalgia going, and many of them are related to the apple orchard close to my home in Connecticut. Not only was it a You-Pick piece of land, of course, but it had the orchard shop, which always seemed to me to be a massive converted barn with high ceilings, rustic wood beams, and soft light that was never harsh. The shop carried many wonders, and the majority of them were apple-themed: caramel apple kits, apple pies, apple bread, a variety of ciders, and apple butter. I always knew that it was possible to make an apple pie or apple bread at home, and helped out with these projects many times. And apple cider was something we were able to find almost anywhere, when the season was right. But apple butter was different: we never made it, it was never given to us as a gift, and it never materialized from anywhere except for this particular orchard, and only for a few months out of the year.

As I grew, I came to realize that apple butter was not such an exotic thing, but I still thought that making it from scratch would be a laborious process that would surely end in disaster. Until this year, I had never considered making it on my own, but then I started to see recipes for apple butter pop up in various locations, and I decided it would be worth a try. For me, it was worth two tries. The night before I made this apple butter, from The New Laurel's Kitchen, I used another recipe, and as if to confirm my former preconceptions, the result was a disaster. Nothing even resembling apple butter materialized. But by that point, I was determined to make this, and so I searched through my cookbooks for a recipe. To my utter excitement, I found what I was looking for, and I resolved to try the apple butter again, with a new recipe and only a bit of a bruised baking ego.

And I'm grateful I did...the apple butter that is now sitting in jars in my refrigerator is precisely what my hometown apple orchard gave to me so many years ago, and which I thought might have been lost to me, a coast away. But this apple butter is spicy, not terribly sweet, and deliciously apple-y. I used Red Delicious apples and 2 heaping tablespoons of honey; unfortunately, I did not have apple juice on hand, so I settled for water, but I can't tell that anything is lost in the flavor.

It took quite some time for the apples to soften at first, so be patient and keep checking. I ended up splitting many of the apple quarters into smaller chunks. And as for simmering the mixture and reducing it, this also took a little while. I made sure to stay by the stove and stir it consistently, and I had no problems.

Since I did not technically preserve the apple butter through traditional canning methods, it is perishable and should be refrigerated. However, I'm more concerned with running out too quickly and making another batch before next weekend than I am about having it spoil on me.

Apple Butter

From The New Laurel's Kitchen
Yield: 2-3 cups

Ingredients:
2 lbs. apples
½ cup apple juice or water
½ cup cider vinegar
2-3 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. allspice
Dash cloves

Directions:
1. Core and quarter the apples and place in a saucepan with apple juice and cider vinegar. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover, and simmer until apples are soft.
2. Press apples through a food mill or strainer, discard skins, and return to saucepan. Mix in honey, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a brisk simmer, stirring frequently, to reduce mixture. It is done when it “sheets” as you drop it from a spoon.
3. Cool, transfer to seal-able jars, and store in the refrigerator.