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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Apple Butter

Well, not really a butter, more like a baby food ;-), but absolutely yummy for the young and the young at heart :-P
Source 
The Daring Cooks September 2010 Challenge by by John of Eat4Fun with small adjustments
Taste 5 (out of 5)
Difficulty 2 (out of 5)
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg apples makes about 1 kg after peeling and coring (480 cal)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed (205 cal)
- 1 tsp ground orange peel
- 1 tsp lemon concentrate
Total 685 cal, 400 g apple butter, 25 cal / tablespoon
Instructions
1. Wash apples well and remove stems. Cut apples into quarters or eighths and remove cores and peel.
2. Cook the peeled apples slowly in a large saucepan. Use enough water to cover the apples and stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Cook until apples are very soft (falling apart).
3. Drain water from the pot, add the sugar, the orange peel and the lemon concentrate to the saucepan. and mash the apples. It is very easily done using an immersion blender. 
4. Simmer over low heat, stirring frequently. This process can take about 2 hours. When cooking down the apples, you want to leave the lid ajar or use a splatter screen. This will allow for evaporation. Another trick is to support the lid by laying two wooden spoons across the top of the pot.
5. To test for doneness, spoon a small quantity onto a clean plate; when the butter mounds on the plate without liquid separating around the edge of the butter, it is ready. Another way to test for doneness is to remove a spoonful of the cooked butter on a spoon and hold it away from steam for 2 minutes. It is done if the butter remains mounded on the spoon.
6. Pour contents into desired storage container or multiple containers. 

Afterthoughts
- Loved the butter - it’s perfect as a spread, especially on my beloved apple bread
- When I drained the water from cooked apples I saved it, and used for chili :-). It could also be great for the dough of the apple bread.
Blog-checking lines: The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.

13 comments:

denise @ quickies on the dinner table said...

Love that you found a use for the apple water and I do think it would be very good for your apple bread dough!

shelley c. said...

Apple butter on apple bread? Sounds fantastic!! And how great that you found a delicious use for the apple water, too. Really great job!

Mary said...

I'll have to try the apple bread, and your apple butter looks amazing!

redkathy said...

I'm a big fan of apple butter. Yours looks wonderful, and is a must try!

Sortachef said...

I’ve made apple butter every year forever, and my kids eat a pint of it every two weeks. My son made me swear I wouldn’t post my recipe, so I’ll be happy to defer to your excellent post. Thanks!

Koci said...

I'm so intrigued by the concept of apple butter. It's just so hard for me to get past the fact that it's called "butter" but it doesn't actually contain butter. That being said, I could totally put aside my confusion for a piece of toast with it spread across the top! Great job! :D

Hamsi said...

Delicious apple butter. Love the recipe with apple bread.
Loving it :-)
http://indianyummykitchen.blogspot.com

chef_d said...

Apple on apple--yummy! Good job on this challenge!

Lauren said...

Oh I will have to try your apple bread to go with the apple butter I made, it looks divine!

Thas said...

Oh, this sounds delish, can't wait to try this.

Anonymous said...

Yes,fall is here tomorrow! Maybe I will make some too.

megi said...

I love the addition of ground orange peel to the apple butter. It sounds and looks lovely.

bestfriend said...

absolutely love this blog!
hwi