How to Make Apple Butter
Ingredients
- Apples
- Sweeteners: (Sugar, honey, maple syrup).
- Spices (optional): Cinnamon, Ginger, and Nutmeg.
Directions
- Select and prepare apples: wash, core, and chop.
- Cook apples in a large pot with a bit of water until soft.
- Puree the mixture for a smoother texture.
- Add sweeteners and spices.
- Choose a cooking method and cook down the mixture until it’s thick and caramelised.
- Store in sterilised jars.
Table of Contents
Apple butter is one of those preserves that you will keep on making once you make it for the first time. Very familiar to some but unfamiliar to many others in the UK, this is a delicious way to make the most of some of your apple harvest.
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What is Apple Butter?
If you are not familiar with apple butter, the first thing we need to talk about is what it actually is. Though it has the word butter in the title, this is a reference to the texture of the finished product and not the dairy product. If you are interested in the history of apple butter, we have found an interesting article that details the specific history of the preserve.
Apple butter is a smooth textured substance, that is often spread over toast or bread but which can be used in a wide range of other ways.
Apple butter is basically the same thing as apple sauce – the only difference being the length of time for which it is cooked down.
It is made by cooking apples down for a very long time, so that the sugars caramelize and the texture softens. Over time, the apple mix turns from green to a deep brown.
Apple butter can contain just apples alone. But more commonly, sugar is added to boost the caramelization and to sweeten the mix. Honey, agave, maple syrup or other natural sweeteners might also be used.
Other ingredients are optional but spices like cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg are also often added to flavour the apple butter. And other more unusual ingredients might also be added to give different flavours to the apple butter.
Why Make Apple Butter?
Apple butter is a useful way to condense some of an abundant apple harvest down and to preserve it for later use. Apple butter reduces a larger number of apples down into a much smaller area, because it is cooked down for a long time.
Of course, this would only be useful if you actually like the finished result and want to eat it. If your house is anything like mine you will surely find that this is not a problem. Apple butter is a popular choice and many will love this sweet treat that can be used in many different ways.
How to Use Apple Butter
The most obvious way to use apple butter is on bread or toast, spread like a jam or jelly. You might also spread it onto pancakes, bagels, etc… But there are also many other ways to use it.
For example, when learning how to make apple butter, it can be baked into a wide range of breads, cakes, muffins and other baked goods. I frequently use apple butter in baking – or spread as a filling between layer cakes… as I did in a recent carrot cake I made. Apple butter can often be used in place of a proportion of fat/ dairy in a recipe.
Some apple butters, depending on the ingredients that you choose to use, can also be added to savoury recipes. For example, the sweet and intensely apple-y flavours of an apple butter can pair well with nuts or cheeses. Apple butter can make a good glaze on a veggie loaf or nut roast, for example.
What You Need to Make Apple Butter
Apple butter is not difficult to make and you do not need a long list of things to make it.
To make your own apple butter you will need:
- Apples – apples that break down easily when they are cooked work best but many different apples can be used.
- Something to add sweetness – usually some kind of sugar, syrup, honey etc… though natural sugar in the apples will be enough for some, most people do like a little additional sweetness. Typically, however, apple butter has less added sugar than a jam or jelly would do. Recipes vary considerably but I would not recommend adding more than around 50-100g of sugar per 400g of apples as a rough rule, and perhaps less depending on the sweetness of the apples.
- Spices – optional but recommended to add flavour and interest to an apple butter. The spices can pretty much be added to taste, but don’t go overboard or the apple butter can begin to taste bitter.
There are three different ways to make apple butter and which method you choose will dictate what else you need.
You might need large, thick-based pan for making apple butter on a hob, a dutch oven type pot or casserole dish if you want to make apple butter in your oven or stove, or a slow cooker if you want to cook down apple butter low and slow in the final way. One of those things, and a spoon for stirring of course, will get you started.
Choosing Apples to Make Apple Butter
I find that the apples you select to make your apple butter will have a large bearing on the recipe that it will be best to follow and to the flavour of the finished result. I have several different types and varieties of apple and have experimented with different varieties in my apple butters over the years.
In general, the apples it is easiest to make apple butter with are those that break down quickly when cooked and relax easily into a soft and mushy apple sauce.
Those that are cooking apples, with a tart taste, will generally need a little sugar or another sweetener added – but for flavour and not for food preservation. Sweeter apples can of course be cooked down to release their own sugars and may not need any additional sweetener at all.
If you have more than one apple tree, or access to more than one type of apple, then you can make a blend. Using several different apple varieties together – perhaps one sweeter and one more tart – can often give excellent results.
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Making Apple Butter – Step by Step
Making apple butter is not a challenging process, but you do require patience. No matter which method you choose, the key is really time. To make a good apple butter you do need to cook down the apples at a low heat for a long time.
Below are the details of the three different methods most commonly used to make apple butter at home.
1. Hob/ Stove Top Apple Butter
Making apple butter on a hob is in many ways the most challenging option – though it also tends to be the quickest. To make stove top/ hob apple butter:
- Core, peel and slice apples. (A corer, peeler, slicer tool makes this job a lot quicker, especially if you have a lot of apples to deal with.)
- Stew down the apples to make a basic applesauce. (adding additional ingredients as you prefer). It is best to use a thick bottomed pan so that the apple butter won’t burn.
- Turn the heat down as low as it will go, and continue to cook down the apple butter. Stir every 5-10 minutes to make sure that the mix does not stick, placing a lid over but not closed down onto the pot, so that water can evaporate.
- Continue to stir regularly, and wait until the apple butter thickens up and becomes a deep, glossy brown. But note that for a true apple butter (rather than just an apple jam or thick apple sauce) you can expect to be stirring regularly for around 3-4 hours.
Because of the effort of regular stirring, many will choose to start out on the hob as they make the apple sauce because this is quicker, but then transfer the apple sauce to the oven (where a lower and more gentle heat can more easily be maintained) or to a slow cooker, to continue the process.
2. Apple Butter in an Oven
Apple butter can also be made in your oven. Many will find this the easiest option though, as mentioned above, creating an apple sauce first on a hob/ stove top can be much quicker. This is the option I usually use when my wood-fired Rayburn is lit in the autumn/ winter.
To make apple butter in your oven or stove:
- Core, peel and slice apples and make applesauce as above.
- Put the oven or stove on a low heat.
- Place the apple sauce with other ingredients as preferred into a lidded cast iron dutch oven or casserole dish, which can prevent hotspots and burning. And pop this in your oven with the lid slightly ajar.
- There are too many variables to say exactly how long the apple butter will take in an oven or stove. But expect it to be many hours, and check on it every once in a while and give it a stir to see how it is getting on. It is done, as above, when it is a deep brown colour.
3. Slow Cooker Apple Butter
If you own a slow cooker then this is another good way to make apple butter. Again, it is quickest to make applesauce first on a hob and then to cook down this apple sauce low and slow in a slow cooker for many hours.
Put the slow cooker on low, and insert a skewer or chopstick to keep the lid slightly open. Expect to have the slow cooker running to make the apple butter for a day or more…
Canning Apple Butter for Storage
To safely store the apple butter you have made, you should consider canning it. Place it into pint or half-pint jars with ¼ inch headspace, de-bubble, and process those jars with canning lids in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.
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FAQs
What is the origin of apple butter?
Apple butter has its roots in mediaeval Europe, particularly in areas like Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. It was a method developed to preserve apples without fermentation.
Can I make apple butter in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot?
Yes, modern pressure cookers or Instant Pots can significantly reduce the cooking time for apple butter while still achieving the desired consistency and caramelisation.
Is apple butter suitable for a vegan diet?
Traditional apple butter recipes are vegan, as they contain only apples, sugar, and spices. However, always check the label for store-bought versions to ensure no animal-derived additives are included.
Is apple butter gluten-free?
Pure apple butter made from apples and spices is naturally gluten-free. However, always check labels or ask the manufacturer if you’re purchasing store-bought apple butter, as there could be additives or cross-contamination.
Sources:
Stepp, L., (2021). History Feature: Preserving the Sweet Heritage of Apple Butter. The Laurel of Asheville. [online] Available at: https://thelaurelofasheville.com/lifestyle/food/history-feature-preserving-the-sweet-heritage-of-apple-butter/#:~:text=Historians%20do%20know%20that%20apple,after%20the%20American%20Revolutionary%20War [accessed 25/08/23]
