Great Grandma Adam’s Vermont Homestyle Apple Butter Recipe
Apple Butter Recipe
- Prep time: 40 minutes – 1 hour
- cook time: 8 hours
- canning time: 30 minutes – 1 hour.
- yield approximately 4 pints
things you need:
- large pot
- slow cooker
- measuring cups & measuring spoons, spatula wooden spoon. Butter knife
- cider
- around 4 1/2 lbs. apples use Sauce apples such as Cortland, Figi, -Rome are best or Granny smith, McIntosh, Braeburn
- 3 cups of apple cider or juice
- food mill & bowl to go under the mill
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground clove
- 1/2 tsp ground all spice
- Mason Jars half pint jars one case
- tongs
DIRECTIONS (Steps)
1) Gather your apples and wash the apples.
-I use a fruit and veggie spray like Honest Brand all natural to clean my produce.
-I prefer Cortland apples.
•But each apple creates a different taste. Play around with different types of apples in different batches for taste testing.
2) Place 3 cups apple cider or juice add to pot
-I prefer a spiced cider like from a local source since I’m in New England
•Note: Trader Joe’s makes a great spiced cider in a pinch and cider from a small local orchard is unavailable (Shop Local if you can!)
3) Core & Quarter cleaned apples with skin on and place in large pot with the 3 cups apple cider or apple juice
-I prefer a spiced cider for a richer flavor and if you use apple juice do your best to use all-natural juice like Simply Apple.
•Do not use juice from concentrate, it alters the taste.
4) Cover the apples and cider in the pot
-Place on medium heat bring to boil and lower heat to simmer.
5) Cook until all apples get mushy and break down/apart while stirring occasionally with the wooden spoon. Turn off heat and proceed
6) Now all the apples are mushed& cooked. Run the apple mush and skins on stove top through a food mill at the finest grate into a collection bowl.
•I use a medium mixing bowl under my food mill.
•Note: you do not need to remove the skins. The food mill will separate the skins from the cooked apple.
7) Run all the apple mush through the food mill
-use spatula on the inside of bowl and bottom of grate on food mill to get everything
-remove food mill and set aside in sink to clean
8) Transfer the contents of the collection bowl into a slow cooker
9) Add spices to apples in slow cooker
•Add 2 cups of sugar
•1.5 tsp. Ground cinnamon
•1/2 tsp. Ground clove
•1/2 tsp. Ground allspice
~I add a dash of a secret ingredient but mums the word on my great granny’s SECRET spice addition
10) stirred until sugar and spices are completely dissolved and mixed in
11) Simmer for 8-10 hours
-until the texture is thick enough to gather on the wooden.
-note: Stove top can actually reduce time sometimes, but it doesn’t have as rich a flavor or deep color like when in slow cooker.
•If you choose to cook stove top Add back into large pot and spice according to above. Your house will smell amazing as it cooks!!
12) During the 8 + hours of cooking Sterilize half pint Ball jars & lids in hot water stove top
– and keep one small clean Tupperware out for extra.
-Use tongs. Magnetic top grabber to remove jars and lids place on clean towel to dry.
13) Now that once texture is reached after 8-10 hours you can prepare canning process.
-If and only if you’re having trouble thickening the apple butter after 7.5-8 hours in the slow cooker there is a way to help the process. Take a small amount of water and dissolve a dash corn starch into the water. Mix into slow cooker/pot to slowly thicken. I prefer to cook longer to get the right texture but after 8 hours in the slow cooker if you can’t reach the right texture this will help speed along the process so you can get it all made and canned in one day.
14) Prep for canning by getting canning pot prepared and preheated
-I use lobster pot & add a rack, but the real canning pots have racks which are very useful
-fill canning pot with enough water to reach one inch under the lid of jar.
•You do not cover jars with water when still adding more jars to can
15) To can fill jars until .25-inch (1/4 inch) space remains at the stop add lid place in large pot with water preheating.
16) Once all jars are filled and in the large canning pot you can Add more water to an inch above the top of the mason jars.
– Bring to a boil.
•Then reduce slight and keep at slight boil for 15 -18 minutes to properly can.
17) Use canning tongs to remove jars, be careful removing from boiling hot water.
– place on either a towel or a rack (I prefer towel) you will hear the BALL jars pop sealed when you remove them.
– leave out to cool completely undisturbed.
•Do not cool in the refrigerator.
18) after cooled completely use a permanent marker to write date of canning in the jar.
19) Add fabric rubber band then a bow to dress up as gifts