| 1 | This same recipe can be used to make apple, grape, peach, pear or plum butters. |
| 2 | In general use 1 cup fruit pulp to ?cup sugar. |
| 3 | Spice to taste and cook slowly. |
| 4 | To make apple butter, use tart cooking apples, not the sweet eating varieties. |
| 5 | If sweet apples are all you have to use, reduce the sugar by 1/3 to ? |
| 6 | Wash, quarter and core the unpeeled fruit. |
| 7 | Place in a heavy kettle with just enough water to prevent scorching. |
| 8 | Cook until soft, stirring frequently, and press through a food mill. |
| 9 | Mix ingredients in a heavy kettle and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until thick. |
| 10 | When ready, a spoonful put on a plate should hold its shape and not "weep" liquid around the edges of the mound after sitting for five minutes. |
| 11 | This usually takes about two hours of cooking but can take as long as four, so plan this project for a day when you have other things to do in the kitchen. |
| 12 | Don"t try and hurry the process as the mixture can easily burn and burned apple butter is only good for the compost pile. |
| 13 | Stir frequently, and if possible use a "heat difuser" between the burner and the kettle. |
| 14 | Oven method: cook the fruit butter in a roasting pan in a 250 - 300°F. oven until thick; may take 6 to 8 hours. |
| 15 | Stir occasionally. |
| 16 | It needs less stirring this way but uses take much more energy and can be awkward to stir. |
| 17 | Crockpot method: put ingredients in crockpot and cook, uncovered, for about 12 hours, stirring occasionally, until it passes the test given above. |
| 18 | When finished, pack into jars per standard canning methods and process pints 5 minutes or quarts 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. |
