Preserves

Apple Butter

What separates apple butter from jam is the texture: no pieces, just a smooth mass that does not run off the spoon. It gets there through time rather than thickeners — two hours over low heat. The sugar is lower than in old recipes: apples are sweet enough and carry plenty of pectin themselves.

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Apple Butter — the finished dish
Prep
30 min
Cook
2 h
Total
2 h 30 min
Servings
24
Level
Easy
Per serving
130 kcal

Ingredients

Makes: 4 jars, 500 ml each

Method

  1. Step 1: Prepare the apples

    Core them and cut into large chunks. Leave the skins on — they hold the most pectin, which is what thickens the butter.

  2. Step 2: Soften

    Put them in a heavy pot with the water and stew, covered, for 25 minutes until completely soft.

  3. Step 3: Sieve

    Push the mixture through a sieve; the skins stay behind and the purée comes out smooth. A blender is not a substitute — it leaves specks of skin.

  4. Step 4: Cook with sugar

    Add the sugar and lemon juice and simmer for 90 minutes over low heat, stirring with a wooden spatula, especially towards the end.

  5. Step 5: Check the set

    Draw the spatula across the bottom: the trail should hold for a few seconds. A drop on a cold saucer should not spread.

  6. Step 6: Seal

    Add the cinnamon, cook for a minute and ladle boiling into sterilised jars. Seal and turn upside down.

Tips & variations

  • Tip

    Apple butter spits as it thickens — cover the pot with a splatter screen or a lid left ajar between stirs.

  • Variation

    Half apples, half plums gives a darker butter with a completely different flavour, thicker still.

  • Tip

    Use a wide pot: the larger the surface, the faster the water leaves.

  • Storage

    A year in a cool dark place. Thanks to the sugar an opened jar keeps a month in the fridge.

Nutrition

Approximate nutrition per serving and for the whole dish
1 serving Whole dish 24 servings
Energy130 kcal3,120 kcal
Protein0 g0 g
Fat0 g0 g
Carbohydrates33 g792 g

Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.

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