Applesauce, of course!
Then Apple Butter.
Then some fresh apple dumplings for dessert.
And next week, we'll get more apples and start Apple Pie Filling for the pantry shelves as well. We started this because a member at church brought some apples, a 5 gallon bucket of them, from his daughter's tree. They were delicious baking apples and I've so missed being able to go gather apples in the autumn. We cooked them up in 2 large crockpot-fulls and oh boy, did they smell good! Touch of cinnamon tossed in while cooking down...YUM!
Well, that just drove me insane and I wanted more :o) Yesterday we drove down to Pontotoc near the Amish community there and at the farm stand, we bought 2 large bushel boxes of apples to keep that wonderful smell in the house a bit longer. They were only $20 a box...might be pricey for some areas, but for what I'm used to paying back north (when we moved, they were pushing near $30 or even more with some varieties, per bushel!) I don't think we did bad at all. We bought some Rome and some Granny Smith.
Anyone have a good, tried and true apple butter recipe? I have tons of them in my varied cookbooks, and for the most part they are similiar, with some calling for simple ingredients, some calling for some Karo syrup, etc.
I've never made apple butter. Well, let me rephrase....I've never made any I thought turned out well. It ends up more like really thick applesauce. Shouldn't it be somewhat more than just thick applesauce? Shouldn't it be a bit more spreadable somehow? This stuff isn't bad, mind you...just not exactly a good go-together with biscuits and scones. I guess I'm wanting something with a bit more consistency to it.
6 comments:
I can't wait to have lots of fruit to make things with. We have peace, pear, and a cherry tree planted. They'll be on there third year next spring. We're still looking into an apple tree that will grow here in Texas. I'd like to have pecan trees, but my youngest, Job, is allergic to tree nuts. What a blessing to use all those apples.
Peace, Kris
I would love to get ourselves fully set up here as well...fruits, some nuts, bramble berries. We had many of those up north, but nothing down here. Someday...
We should have plenty of sauce, butter and pie filling by the time I'm through, but after all the nibbling going on, I don't imagine anyone will feel much like eating it too soon! The belly aches from too many apples is already settling in with the youngers...they kept sneaking a bite here and there :o)
Deanna
Well, I make apple butter with sugar and spice, but the real secret is the cooking. You have to cook it down for a LONG time to get it nice and thick. LONG LONG time...
Get it out and cook it again. Keep it on the stove for a few days, if necessary. It will work, it will just take patience.
:-D
Love all your pictures! I'd give anything to be off on a road like that - you're very lucky. I bet your place smelled wonderful with all those apples - it probably still does, lol!
Here's the decision I've come to regarding the beans. No matter where I looked, the price for 25 lbs. hit right around $24-$25. And shipping was hitting right at $25 with everyone too. So I'd be looking at $50. Well, around here a 1 lb. sack of the bean mix is right at $2. So I'm going to be just as well off to just buy my beans at the store and not even have to wait for shipping time. Sure, they won't come in #10 cans or anything but I have lots of foodsafe buckets. So that's probably how I'm going to go aboutit.
New here ... like what I see so far :)
Like the commenter said above, cook it a LONG time. Keep the lid OFF so the steam escapes. Stir often so it does not burn to the bottom. Test for 'done-ness' by dropping a spoonful onto a cold plate - it should be a thick, smooth 'blob'.
If you can stir it constantly, you can boil it down quicker at a higher temp - but you must stir it non-stop.
Our apple butter seemed to not turn out well this year, till we opened a jar - YUM! It was the best so far. I used a little bit if honey and stevia (herbal) for the sweetener.
Have a wonderful day in the Lord!
In Christ,
Joanne
Hey D --
If ordering them is going to be the same price as just picking up a bunch of 1# bags, I'd go talk to the store manager and ask if they have a case of them in the back and buy it, rather than just emptying his shelves. He might even be able to order a case for you -- he's going to have to replace them in the store if you buy them all, it's worth asking. A store here will do that for you -- they don't pass along any real savings, but they prefer doing that instead of me simply clearing them out on shopping day :o)
Ginny & Joanne -- thank you for the tips. My apple butter cooked on low in the crockpot for 3 days....3 DAYS....and while it isn't as thick as I'd like, it is much more than I have managed in the past. It's all jarred up and in the pantry now. Only 7 pints for 3 days time, but that's ok :o)
Deanna
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