Apple Butter/3 Methods

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

This same recipe can be used to make apple, grape, peach, pear or plum
butters.  In general use 1 cup fruit pulp to 1/2 cup sugar. Spice to taste
and cook slowly. To make apple butter, use tart cooking apples, not the
sweet eating varieties. If sweet apples are all you have to use, reduce the
sugar by 1/3 to 1/2.
Wash, quarter and core the unpeeled fruit.  Place in a heavy kettle with
just enough water to prevent scorching. Cook until soft, stirring
frequently,  and press through a food mill. Mix ingredients in a heavy
kettle and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until thick. When
ready, a spoonful put on a plate should hold its shape and not 'weep'
liquid around the edges of the mound after sitting for five minutes. This
usually takes about two hours of cooking but can take as long as four, so
plan this project for a day when you have other things to do in the
kitchen. Don't try and hurry the process as the mixture can easily burn and
burned apple butter is only good for the compost pile. Stir frequently, and
if possible use a 'heat difuser' between the burner and the kettle.
Oven Method:  Cook the fruit butter in a roasting pan in a 250 - 300 F.
oven until thick;  may take 6 to 8 hours. Stir occasionally. It needs less
stirring this way but uses take much more energy and can be awkward to
stir.
Crockpot Method:  Put ingredients in crockpot and cook, uncovered, for
about 12 hours, stirring occasionally, until it passes the test given
above.
When finished, pack into jars per standard canning methods and process
pints 5 minutes or quarts 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Adapted from
12 Months Harvest, Ortho Books, by Linda Shogren
Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V4 #297 by COOKIT4U@aol.com on Nov 17, 1997

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