Apple Butter Creation

Hi All, 

It seems I have neglected one of my talents, and that’s in creative food results. Plus, I haven’t posted anything about food in SOME time, so I think now is a good time!

Last week I was aware of needing to use up some apples. I had brought some more on my grocery trip but still knew I had a spare few older ones to use up. And so, something Apple related became my project. I have a few quaint and beautiful apple orientated books with lovely recipes, but I just didn’t feel like making those recipes. I was in the mood to create something new. Something fresh. Something from my own skills.

I had researched about what is called “Apple Butter” I thought it was an interesting term and possibly a jam of sorts and seen that was a way to use up apples and seemingly do whatever comes to the mind with the Apple Butter.

I needed to steam some apples anyway so that I could replenish my supplies for my 1 year old. So, I peeled and diced 5 red apples, then placed the pieces into the steamer.

Of course, if you are in a situation where you do not need to segregate any pieces then I recommend placing the peeled and diced apple pieces straight into the saucepan with the following ingredients:

·       ¼ cup white vinegar

·       ½ cup brown sugar

·       Dash of white sugar

·       50g butter

·       Dash of water to ensure some sort of liquid will come of this, and to slightly ‘dilute’ the vinegar

·       1 tsp cinnamon powder

·       Slight sprinkle of cloves (I’m not big on this flavour but I know it partners well with apple add up to   ½ tsp of clove powder if you like)

Leave the mixture to simmer on medium-high heat for close to an hour. I’m not entirely sure how long I left mine, considering my apples were already pre-cooked. Let’s see. I recall playing with my 1-year old and then we ventured outside, for him to play and for me to hang some washing. There was a lovely warm, spicey yet sweet perfume wafting its way outside and it was at that point I thought mmmm best I check on my apple butter concoction.

Everything looked combined and cooked together just with soft lumps. At this point I used my stick blender to create a puree of the mixture. (At this point I also recommend tasting it – if not before. Then you can add whatever might be needed. If it is too tart, add a bit more of the sugary sweetness to it. I don’t think there would be a risk of it tasting too sweet. If so add a pinch of salt.)

Now the mixture has come altogether as a puree, allow it to cool down then scoop it up into some jars and use it with practically anything!

As you may have read from previous posts, I have a rather large collection of baby food jars which I kept for re-purposing. I filled one up for my family, then added a small amount into a smaller jar for my Parents. I felt like going for a drive to see them and thought of taking them a sample of the Apple Butter. Generally, my Parents are not big on jams and spreads, so a sample was hopefully a good enough size.

Recipe Card:

Apple Butter Ingredients:	Apple Butter Method:
5 apples, peeled and diced ¼ cup white vinegar ½ cup brown sugar Dash of white sugar 50g butter Dash of water to ensure some sort of liquid will come of this, and to slightly ‘dilute’ the vinegar 1 tsp cinnamon powder Slight sprinkle of cloves	Add all ingredients into a saucepan over medium-to-high heat. Stirring occasionally to avoid sugar burning the base. Allow to heat until apples soften and break up amongst the combined ingredients. Use a stick blender to bring mixture together into a puree form. Take off heat. Allow to cool before scooping up into storage containers. Use within the week.

**Disclaimer: I used my quantity of it up within the week of when I created it, and all seemed well with my stock. However, if you wish to make this product it will be at your own risk.

As a bit of an extended DIY project to this post, I did up the jars to look a bit nicer than a boring old jar.

I had some left-over circle shapes from previous craft projects and so used a couple onto the lids of the jars. On each I wrote “Apple Butter” then to hold over the lid I used a small sheet of contact. Then on the body of the jar, I used a jam label. Ideally, I needed apple ones and of course had everything BUT that fruit. So, I opted for the cherry as I know my Mum loves cherries.

End results? Seems I need to make this recipe again soon. My Parents absolutely loved it on their toast and like my suggestion on their porridge. I very much enjoyed some with my porridge and a spoonful of Greek yoghurt to compliment. Need to do this again… SOON!