Apple Butter
MAKES 7 TO 8 HALF-PINTS · PREP 30 MIN · CROCKPOT TWO NIGHTSBuilt on the Ball tested apple butter. The cider, brown sugar and apple pie spice are mine.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Wash, peel and slice the apples. Cut out any bruises.
- Apples and cider in the crockpot. Lid on, LOW overnight, until they fall apart.
- Blend smooth. Then MEASURE the pulp. You need 10 cups.
- Pulp back in with the sugars, lemon juice and spice. Stir until dissolved.
- Lid CRACKED. Low another 6 to 8 hours, until it holds on a spoon.
- Hot into hot half-pint or pint jars, 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rims. Rings snug, not tight.
- Boiling water bath 15 min under 1,000 ft. Add 5 min above that. Time from a full boil.
- Heat off, lid off, wait 5 min, lift out. Cool 12-24 hrs. Bands off, check seals.
Video
Notes
Crack The Lid
Apple butter thickens because water leaves the pot. With the lid on, the water hits the lid and drips back in, and twelve hours later you have warm applesauce. Lid all the way on only to soften the apples. After the sugar goes in, lid cracked or off until it is done.
Measure the Pulp, Not the Apples
Every other amount, including the lemon juice, is based on how much pulp you have. Apples are not all the same size and don't cook down the same. If you have less than 10 cups, scale everything down to match. Never scale the lemon juice on its own.
Good to Know
- Bottled lemon juice, not fresh. It is the acid, and the acid is the safety. Don't reduce it.
- Look up your elevation. Over 1,000 feet you add 5 minutes. Longer is never the unsafe direction.
- Half-pints or pints only. New lids every time. Bands come off for storage.
- Jars that didn't seal go in the refrigerator. Refrigerate after opening. Best within a year.
- Sugar and spice are yours to move. Not canning it? Freeze it with an inch of headspace.
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