It is that time of year again. Now I know I have been doing a LOT of canning lately……tomatoes (which you have already seen), carrots, which you have NOT already seen so here is a photo of all the carrots (there are more to still do yet).
Last weekends work.
Running out of room for my canning adventurers.
HOWEVER, it is now time for apple butter. Why? You might ask? Because I am such a nice person! Why does it make me a nice person? Well…(take a sip) (only a couple people will understand the “take a sip” thing) so for clear understanding go to http://thegoodgreatsby.com/2011/11/03/the-take-a-sip-punctuation/ but oh well….it’s because I plan on giving them away during the holidays to my neighbors and people that I like. I won’t be giving any to people I “don’t” like.
I already put up some apple butter (that is canner talk for “I canned some”) last night, but it didn’t seem to thicken as much as I would have liked so I “may” give those to people I do not like. So I am making a whole new batch today.
First you need this handy dandy apple peeler...it will slice too if you want it to. I didn't want it to so I only peeled.
You will need 1 apple peeler, one scale and about 6 lbs of apples ....and a pretty bowl...ugly bowls will ruin the batch. Please keep this in mind.
....as I've said before, you cannot do this without coffee, and it has to be in a pretty cup. If you don't have coffee, and it's not in a pretty cup, the whole batch will taste like crap.
You will need ground cinnamon, honey, and apple cider.
You will need a food mill. It just sits right on top of a normal pan.
I used my Blendtech, it made it so much easier than the food mill.
I consult with the ladies and gentlemen that I trust in the most, Betty Crocker, Better Homes and Gardens, and James Beard to see which has the best recipe. Because last nights didn't work the best.
I ended up with a variation on BH&G and James Beards recipe. I used honey instead of sugar this time to sweeten. Also less Apple cider and cooked it down longer.
All pretty bowls in place? Yep, ready for take off captain.
Start your engines apple peeler...and peel away!
I LOVE this thing!
If only I could figure out what to do with this "apple spaghetti"
Once you have them all peeled you core and quarter them.
Cook them with about 4 cups apples cider for about 30 minutes.
Then you put them through the food mill or the blender and put them back into the pot to cook another 30 minutes adding the honey and cinnamon. When it reaches the desired thickness your done. (Don’t ask me what the desired thickness is supposed to be because I don’t know) the recipe didn’t say! So I just did it to where “I desired” and I desired it to be thicker than applesauce.
Fill canning jars to within 1/2 inch of top and put the lids on.
put them in a water bath for 10 minutes.
Taaa Daaaa apple butter for your friends and enemies alike
I would like to make cute little tags that hang on them to make them seem extra special as well. So the receiver really feels like they are getting something worthy of true excitement. But I won’t be doing that part for the people I don’t like.
Latest Tweets
