APPLE BUTTER
By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 279) [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition).]
One of the best additions to pancakes was the offering of apple butter at a restaurant in upper New York State. The apple butter was homemade, from the apples of their adjoining cider mill and orchards. Had I only known, [in the 50s] that I would be re-creating famous recipes [25 years later], I would have paid more attention to what the cook told me she did with the apple butter. All I could remember was that she began with apple juice and lemonade and a little molasses. After several batches that were not even close, I finally came up with the correct combination that, in my memory, duplicated the smooth, slightly spiced condiment.
INGREDIENTS:
6-ounce can lemonade concentrate, frozen
6 ounces “natural”-style apple juice (I used Mott’s brand)
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
¼ cup dark molasses
4 teaspoons cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon mace powder
½ teaspoon salt
24 firm, semi-large, red apples
INSTRUCTIONS:
Combine everything except the apples in a 2 ½-quart sauce pan, stirring constantly over high heat until it comes to a boil. At once, reduce heat to lowest point and continue stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Let [the syrup] simmer ever-so gently while you prepare the apples.
Have a helper – or even two – to peel and grate 24 firm, large, red apples (by weight, before peeling, I had exactly 10 pounds.) Using the large hole of a vegetable grater, grate the peeled apples to almost the cores – you don’t want to scrape the casing around the seeds the least bit and have these get into the [grated] apples.
Keep turning the apple a quarter of a turn as you grate it down close to the core. Discard the cores and combine both syrup and apples in a very large kettle, to be certain all the apples are coated in the syrup. Place this on high heat, again, stirring constantly until it begins to bubble.
Remove from heat at once, or it may scorch, and begin putting 2 or 3 cups full of the mixture through your blender to a purée. Transfer the purée to a preheated slow cooker or crock pot. When all the mixture has been puréed [and transferred], cover the slow cooker with a tight-fitting lid.
Be sure there are no particles of food lodged around the rim of the slow cooker to prevent a tight fit, where heat might otherwise escape and foul up the temperature control. Set heat at high for 1 hour. Then, stir it thoroughly and turn heat to LOW.
Keep it covered and forget about it for 5 hours or longer – depending upon the thickness you wish. The longer it cooks, the thicker it will be. Makes about 3 quarts of apple butter, which can be packed into family-sized freezer containers and sealed securely to be used within a year. Allow to thaw at room temperature when ready to use.
See also…
