A couple of weeks ago I went on an apple pick two blocks from my home with other volunteers with one of my favourite organizations, Not Far From the Tree. I came home with 12 pounds of some kind Macintosh variety apples. I took 4 pounds and turned it into applesauce. 1 took a few more pounds and gave it to friends, made a 6 piece portion size of apple crisp but I was still left with six pounds of apples.
I had never attempted to make Apple butter, a regular buy at the St. Lawrence Market when I was a kid. I wanted to try it without sugar and since I had access to a slow cooker, most of the cooking was done while I slept! In the morning, a dark, deep sweet, almost malt-like flavour with the texture of jam was created. Crockpots are easy to find/borrow/buy secondhand and I’m finding it be very useful too! I suppose you can make this on the stove top but it would waste a lot of energy and a lot of time would be spent stirring and checking up on it.
Ingredients
4 pounds of apples (or any amount that would make at least 4 cups or more or chopped, peeled and cored apples)
1 tablespoon of lemon (I used half a lemon)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of sugar-free apple juice
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg.
Put all ingredients in slow cooker and leave it on low for 8 -10 hours. It should become a dark red colour. With a hand blender, blend until smooth. If it’s not think enough, you can try it on high or take it out and place in saucepan until the liquid reduces (and thickens some more). Place in sterilized mason jar. It’s delicious on toast, mixed in yoghurt or oatmeal…or even in spoonfuls on it’s own!
Apple butter has no butter or added fat, like its name implies. This version has no added sugar.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks