Washington State has many varieties of fruit. Apples are one of my favorite. Making apple butter becomes so much easier if you use a steamer juicer to remove the juice first. This greatly reduces the cooking time and gives a byproduct of apple juice. Making fruit butter is such a great way not to waste any part of the fruit when juicing. Fruit butter tends to be smoother with more spices and less sugar than jam.
Apple Butter
Ingredients to Make Apple Butter:
4 pounds of Apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)
2 cups White Sugar
2 cups Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
Making the Apple Butter:
peel, slice and core apples
Wash, peel, core and slice 4 pounds of apples.
softened apple pulp
juice byproduct
You can cook them down with 1/4 cup of water or use the steamer juicer (My preferred method.)
Prepare Your Canning Equipment:
Just before your apples are done softening prepare your boiling water bath with enough water to cover 3 pint-sized jars with 1-2 inches of water. Place the water bath canner on the stove on low to medium heat. Next, prepare your jars by making sure they are clean and hot. Then, submerge your lids in a small pan of water, bring it to a boil, and then leave it at a simmer. Now that your equipment is ready, it is time to start making apple butter.
add ingredients and pulp in large pot
In a large pot, mix the apples with 2 cups of white sugar, 2 cups of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves.
Simmer until thick.
fill jars
Pour or ladle the butter into clean, hot, pint-sized jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Place the lids and rings on and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath at sea level or adjust for your elevation.
processing complete
Remove the jars from the water bath. Allow them to sit on the counter for 24 hours then check if they sealed properly. The center will be indented down if they are. If not, place any unsealed jars in the refrigerator and use them right away.
Place the sealed jars in a cool, dry area and use them within the next 3 years. After that, the nutritional value begins to decrease.
If you have any questions about how to use a boiling water canner take a look at our canning basics videos.
