Made in America – Apple Butter

Our recipes seem to have taken a decidedly “fruity” turn over the last few weeks and I’m going to continue in this vein.

With the advent of fall and the abundance of apples, I start thinking about all the things that can be done with them – apple pie (of course), apple cider, apple crisp, etc.

One of the things I used to love as a child was apple butter.  For those who don’t know what apple butter is, there’s no butter in it.  Instead it’s spiced apples that are slow cooked to make a condiment that can be spread on bread, put on pancakes or french toast, or used in various recipes – from sweets to pork chops. (Get out the cottage cheese Michelle!)

Since it’s impossible to find here, I decided to make some myself.  It’s really not difficult, it’s just time consuming.  I also had to change the process a bit to make it more baby-friendly.  To do that, I changed the second stage of cooking and instead of doing it on the stovetop, which requires frequent stirring, I cooked it in the oven.  It did take a bit longer in the oven, but if it’s a cold day, just turn your oven on low and let it go, stirring every once in a while.

And, don’t think that preparing the apples is going to be time-consuming.  It’s not since all you need to do is wash them well and quarter them.  You want to cook them in the beginning with the skins and seeds on (you’ll remove them later) since they contain a lot of pectin.

Apple butter has been made in America since Colonial times.  Now, you’ll see various recipes saying to use only the best apples, etc.  But I can’t believe that the colonials used their best apples for apple butter.  I’m sure the best apples they kept for eating or making pretty desserts, using the rest in recipes that get cooked down or mashed (apple sauce, apple butter, apple cider).  So, I used a variety of apples.

In my opinion, if you’re going to make apple butter, go for the gusto and make a bunch at a time.  It has a good shelf life and also makes a great gift.  The recipe here is on a smaller scale than what I did (I used 4 kilos of apples), but it’s easily adjusted.

Ingredients
4 lbs apples
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups water
Sugar (see instructions)
Salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Clean the apples and cut into quarters.  Do not peel or core, but do cut out any damaged parts.

Put the apples in a large pot with the vinegar and water, cover and bring to a boil.  Once the apples are boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cook until soft.  The time will depend on the type of apples you are using.  Some apples take longer to cook than others.

Preheat oven to 300.

Process the apple mixture in a foodmill.

At this point, you basically have apple sauce (another thing that’s hard to find in Italy.  And if you do find it, it costs a fortune, so you might want to put some aside to enjoy as is).

Measure the amount of puree and add 1/4 cup sugar to each cup of apple pulp. It’s easier if you weigh it, adding 50 grams of sugar to each 300 grams of apple pulp.

Stir to dissolve the sugar, then add a pinch of salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.  Taste and adjust if necessary.

Put mixture in an oven proof pan and cook in the oven, stirring occasionally.  This will take several hours.  To test if the apple butter is done, put a spoonful onto a cold plate.  If the apple butter stays solid and no liquid weeps out, it’s done.

If you only made a little, and plan on keeping it in the refrigerator, just put it in your jar and you’re done.  If however, you are like me and made a big batch, you’ll need to follow proper canning procedures so that your apple butter has a shelf life.  Contrary to popular belief, it’s really not difficult.  Just put the mixture into sterilized jars, top with sterilized lids and process in a large pot in boiling water for 10 minutes.  Once the jars have boiled for at least 10 minutes (it’s not going to hurt them if you leave them in longer than that), turn the heat off and let the water cool.

You now have your own batch of homemade apple butter.  Yummm!

Italiano

E’ la stagione della mela che mi fa pensare a tutte le ricette che posso fare con questa frutta.  Ci sono tante ricette americane.  Tutti hanno sentito parlare della famosa torta di mela americana.  Ma c’è una cosa particolare che si fa in America per più di due cento anni.  Si chiama Apple Butter o Burro di Mela.  Non contiene burro, il nome viene della consistenza della confettura.

Si può usare il Burro di Mela come tutte le altre confetture ma si può anche usarla in altre mode.  E’ anche buono sulle bistecche di maiale o, come si fa in certe regioni d’America, mischiata con fiocchi di latte o yogurt.

E’ vero che ci vuole tempo, ma non è molto difficile.  Per preparare le mele, basta pulirle e tagliarle in quattro pezzi.  La buccia e i semi contengono la pectina.

Ho scelto di fare la seconda fase di cottura nel forno perché ho un bambino piccolo a casa.  Si può anche farla sul fornello, ma si deve girarla spesso ed è facile bruciarla.

Questa ricetta fa circa 3 vasi di confettura, ma è facile aggiustarla per fare di più.

Ingredienti
1.8 chili di mele
200 ml aceto di mela
400 ml acqua
Zucchero (vedi sotto)
Sale
2 cucchiaini cannella
Mezzo cucchiaino chiodi di garofano (macinati)
Mezzo cucchiaino noce moscato

Tagliate le mele in 4 pezzi, senza sbucciarle or togliere i semi.

Mettetele in una pentola con l’acqua e l’aceto, coprirla e fatele bollire.  Una volta bollendo, abbassate la fiamma e lasciatele cuocere fino a quando le mele sono molli.

Preriscaldate il forno a 150 gradi.

Versate le mele in un passaverdura per togliere le bucce e i semi e fare il puree.

Misurate il puree.

Per ogni 300 g di puree, aggiungete 50 g di zucchero.  Girate e aggiungete un pizzico di sale, la cannella, i chiodi di garofano e il noce moscato.  Assaggiate e aggiungere altre spezie a piacere.

Versate il puree in una pentola e infornarla.  Fatelo cuocere per parecchie ore, mescolandolo ogni tanto.  Per vedere se la confettura è pronta, mettete una cucchiaiata su un piatto freddo.  Se mantenga la forma e non esce il liquido intorno, è pronta a invasare.

Versate la confettura in vasi piccoli e fategli bollire per almeno 10 minuti.

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