thoughtful consumption

Last week I split a 10 pound bag of apples with my neighbor and decided to make apple butter.

I used this recipe from Simply Recipes. Everything went pretty smoothly, but the end product was a little sweet for me. I’m going to cut the sugar by at least a quarter next time. I may try reducing the water a little, too, because it wasn’t as thick as I was hoping even after cooking a long time.

One thing I really like about this recipe is you don’t have to peel or core the apples! You just wash and quarter them cutting out any bad spots. Cook in the water and vinegar till mushy and run them through the food mill. It took around 10 minutes to mill 5 lbs of apples.

Here’s what you end up with…

The smooth, buttery texture comes from using the food mill. Supposedy if you use a food processor you just get applesauce.

I cooked the apple butter for three hours over low and then a little longer over medium low while I sat in the kitchen with a book so I could stir frequently. It finally got thick enough for a wooden spoon to stand in, but not as thick as I was hoping.

I’m not a canner (yet), so I’m eating some now, giving some away now, and freezing the rest for later.

And here’s the result!

My favorite apple butter snack is a toasted raisin english muffin with yogurt cheese (or cream cheese) and apple butter. Mmmm.