Real! Pre-1900 Shelf Stable Apple Butter, a Lost Art
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ม.ค. 2025
- Apple butter evolved before there were canning jars. This is my project to learn how to make apple butter the old way, so that it will keep without canning. I did a lot of research, cooked up a couple of test batches and things went pretty well.
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There may be some confusion about the proportions. The proportions in old recipes seemed to mostly fall between equal parts of juice to whole unpeeled apples, or somewhat less apples than juice. So, for instance a barrel of juice and a little less than a barrel of apples. So, probably a ratio of somewhere between 1 to 1 and 1 to .75 juice to apples would work fine. I pretty much guestimated mine, but leaned toward using more juice than not. The apples are then peeled and cored before adding to the boiled juice, they are only measured whole for convenience. I think the reason all the accounts are written that way is that you would be making cider and saving out a certain quantity of apples to add, which is easier to do obviously without peeling the apples first.
One difference is that there is a large portion of juice used, more juice than apples. The juice is boiled down, before adding cored and peeled apples. The whole lot is cooked down into a smooth paste, which used to be stored away in crocks and could keep for many years, apparently even improving in quality.
The question now is how long will mine keep and what are the factors involved in whether it keeps or now. Some old information says that it keeps, and other information says it can sometimes spoil when warm weather begins in the spring and summer.
UPDATE AND QUANTITIES: All of my batches of apple butter have kept well, some 5 years now. Judging the consistency is important. It should be maybe something like a spreadable cheese or room temperature butter, but it's sort of it's own consistency and hard to compare. Pretty stiff though. Think paste or spread rather than anything that is at all runny. The butter has to be cooled to judge it's consistency. IT IS MUCH SOFTER WHEN HOT, and if taken too far will begin to caramelize. The ratio is one part by volume of apple juice, to one part or less of whole apples. so between about 1:1 and 1:.75 Begin boiling down the apple juice while you peel and core the apples. When the juice is half it's original volume, add the peeled and cored apples to cook down.
I'm thinking ahead to making this year's batch already - can't wait to make some more. Compared the taste of last year with an older batch..very very interesting how the flavor differs. Is it aging, is it the mix of varieties in the batch? Who knows, but this "true" apple butter is freaking delicious.
Awesome. You continue to impress me with your endless curiosity. Thanks for sharing this.
2 Questions : How can you tell once its spoiled ? Its really cool that you dug up all this literature but did you go talk to the families that have been running apple orchards for generations? Probably a really good resource there. Pretty sure my local orchard make and sells this stuff. They also claim the birthplace of the Macintosh apple (Dundela, ONT).
Over six years now. Any new updates?
Loving the research you're doing. Grew up making applebutter at home and the all day slow reduction and learning how to use a pairing knife is where all the memories are.... I've missed making applebutter, it's packed with so much goodness!
Thanks so much Steven. I’ve been experimenting with this now for a couple years, and I feel that I’ve made some significant advancements that are worth sharing. My apples are small because I live by the Arctic circle (mostly Trailman variety). Thus, the time to peel and core them is prohibitive. I simply cook the apples overnight in a crockpot including cores, skins, and stems. I add a cup of water at the start to keep them from burning. When the apples are soft as pudding, I push them through a wire sieve with the back side of a soup ladle. This separates the seeds, core parts, and stems. I return the good stuff to the crock pot and cook all day with the lid off, and it’s done. It’s also shelf stable for at least a year, but far less effort than the old recipe. At the apple butter stage, I put half of it in the dehydrator on freezer paper 1/4” thick and dry it at 140F for about 12 hours. Makes the most awesome fruit leather which is also shelf stable in a jar. The fruit leather tastes about the same, but is way easier to carry than jars when I’m in the field.
Awesome, thanks for sharing. So you don't need to use any juice? Do you know the brix level on that fruit? I made a lot of trailman crosses this year.
SkillCult I only add enough water to keep the apples from scorching in the crockpot, which is about a cup for a large crockpot. I did not add juice. We often run several crockpots at once. Perhaps there is some purpose for adding juice that I don’t understand, but at this point, I have proof that it all works fine with just cooked down whole apples. Since I have very limited time and my family has a big appetite for these products, I’m going to stick with the easy method until I find anything wrong with it. If I do find any issues, I’ll report back in the coming years. To do the one year shelf stable test, I had to hide it. The kids really love both the butter and the fruit leather. I do not know the brix of my Trailman. They are a very nice combination of tart and sweet with a good texture. They make great dried apples too, but apple butter or leather is 1/10th the labor. Thanks so much for posting this video, you’ve really improved our household’s use of every single apple the orchard can produce. I am grateful to you.
I hope your Trailman:Wickson crosses result in another awesome zone 1 apple.
I tried this method with store bought gala apples this week just to see. It seemed to cook down to less butter per pound of apples than Trailman. The butter and the fruit leather was sweeter and less tangy. The flavor was overall a little less appealing, but still so good that you want to eat it all. I put some fruit leather in a jar and hid it again for a shelf longevity test.
My family is from the Appalachian area where there are apple festivals and you will see folks stirring the huge pots of it with large wooden spoons. Graves Mountain Farm in Virginia sells old fashioned apple butter and they've been making it the old way for ages (I've heard they have a team of men that take turns stirring around the clock until each batch is ready).
My cousin got married in 2014 and got jars of their apple butter to give to all their wedding guests as a gift. I'd been slowly eating mine for a couple years and then lost it somewhere within the depths of the fridge until I found it half eaten a couple years ago. Well, I just finished the last of it.....10 years later. It still looked, smelled, and most importantly, tasted delicious - not too different than when I first got it as far as I could tell.
That is good to hear. Since making this video, someone told me about another business that still makes old fashioned apple butter. I hope there is a revival, I think the time is ripe.
The peels from the apples are where a large amount of the natural pectin is stored. The peels would have been simmered in water until it gelled. This was used to preserve other types of fruit that were low in natural pectins. Another reason apple butter stays preserved for so long is the natural pectin in the fruit as well. So that is a factor.
We do this in Portugal with a mix of quince and pear with added sugar. You can keep it forever and it just hardens but it's even better. Nowadays people cheat on the original recipes because it takes up to 8 hours to do, since the quince is really hard to get to mashed consistency and then add gelatin. In Brasil they make it with Guava.
It's true,if it is not industrial you can keep it forever as it just hardens but is even sweeter and more concentrated in flavour.
+ganiniii Thanks, I've heard about some other similar products now from Russia and and other places. It makes sense that there would be similar preparations around the globe that predate canning.
Very nice :) We call this "povidla" in my country (the Czech Republic). It's actually a very common thing available in every grocery store. It would even more typically be made out of plums - or you can mix plums, apples, and pears. Or any fruit of this kind, really. The plums are soaked in water overnight and then you add sugar and cook it all until it reaches the desired consistency. Quite simple. My mom lets it cook on the tile stove all day, stirring occasionally, no big deal. Her "povidla" is just delicious. She also makes something that's called "klevela", which I think is made slightly differently and it has cinnamon, cloves, and rum added. It's also more runny. The best thing, yummy. If you were interested in a recipe, I can ask mom. Though I guess you already know your stuff pretty well :)
Thanks. That sounds good. I'm really interested in the fundamentals. I think we can probably use almost any fruit if we get the sugar high enough and the water low enough. I've heard about some other similar preparations from around the world.
Plums?! Yes please! So glad to know, can't wait to try this! We have waaaaaay too many plums and now I can't wait for this year's harvest!
Dear Elmorro,
I'm from Saxony...I'm interested in the recipes of your mother...would you share them?
@@kai-uweschierz638 Hi! I'm glad you're interested. I'll ask mom and come back to you :-)
In my country (Mordor), what is called “povidlo” is prepared without separating the fractions, and also with the addition of sugar. The essence of the method specifically in this video is completely different. I'd rather call it applesauce. An alternative to pastila.
p.s. number 1. Speaking of applesauce, there is a recipe with condensed milk. This is a very worthy delicacy.
p.s. number 2. when preparing povidla from plums, apricots and even melons, it is worth considering that the thickening of applesauce occurs due to the high pectin content. Therefore, for jelly, you will need to add either dry pectin or, for example, agar-agar. Well, or add applesauce, but here you will have to figure out the proportions.
п.с. номер 3. не уверен что переводчик корректно смог передать то что я хотел сказать, так же как не уверен что у вас есть сгущенное молоко, кефира же нету.. Но если гуглить на русском тот рецепт то он писать: "повидло Неженка"
This is incredible !
Though my Mother canned many different foods, she didn’t make apple butter.
She said it was very labor intensive, if she was too prepare it as my Grandmother.
Mind you, this would have been close too a century ago.
Upon finding a recipe in a recipe book nearly 75 years old and speaking in depth with my Mother.
I set my mind to making Apple butter.
It was cooked low and slow. It simmered nearly 15-16 hours.
Both of my parents were very pleased with it.
My mother remembered it was simmered until a wooden spoon would stand upright, on then was it considered thick enough.
There’s nothing more enjoyable than to have a hot biscuit with apple butter !
Thanks again. Brought back memories of long ago ! ❤️
Neat story. The test I rememvber reading was put some on a plate and hold the plate upside down to see if it would stay.
I made apple butter a few years back from a couple of hundred year old Red Gravensteins that are in my back yard. It took forever. The method I used was with a hand crank food mill and cheese cloth. This looks much less labor intensive and if I don’t have to worry about any special preservation process then it’s worth a shot at trying. If I have any apples left over after I’m done putting up juice and sauce that what I’m going to do, and if works out I’ll add that in to my yearly apple processing. The fact that this process was nearly lost like so much else from times gone by is so sad. Working with plants, trees, the soil, etc., can be a really spiritual, grounding, and healing experience. If more people spent time outside planting and tending and growing their own food the world would be a much healthier and probably much more sane place. Thanks so much again for another straightforward, informative, & important video!
Think about making it in the oven instead of stirring in a pot. I hear it's much less work and some of the old recipes recommed doing it that way.
My Grandma used to make apple butter but she made it thin, and canned it. This looks incredible.
try it, it's great!
My family made apple butter in 1975....we just finished the last of it in 2020.....just as good as it was on day 1. We had to re-lid the jars in the early 2000's because the lids were starting to rust
Still made in Jersey where it is called Black Butter (Nièr beurre)
10 gallons cider
700 lb sweet apples, peeled and cut
20 lb sugar
3 sticks liquorice, finely chopped
24 lemons, sliced
3 lb allspice
Thank you for posting the quote re PA folk and their practice of large batching apple butter! My new world ancestors helped settle North Central PA (Tioga region) and lived there until my mom was almost 18. I just told my friend today I really missed apple butter (I came upon you searching for a recipe though already a subscriber) because my mom and grandma always had it on hand. My mom passed in the 90s and it's about time I revive this family practice. Thank you for sharing!
It's so good. I still have teh stuff I made in this vid and it's still good. I make it quite a bit thinner and more spreadably now, but still pretty thick.
@@SkillCult I made it, though with summer apples (William's Pride mostly and some Gravenstein). Cooked 24 hrs. The texture is thick, no runny or even jiggly-ness. But it easily spreads either thin or thick. And though it could it won't last long. Got 5 half-pints out of about 15-20 lbs of apples and half gallon of juice (ratio off but all I had on hand). I did add cinnamon, and a little ginger and nutmeg, and since not the sweet fall apples, some brown sugar and butterscotch chips.
Dude you f*#@ing rock we all need to get in touch with real things in life I had a life changing event and I know I have to change and get back to whats REALLY important! Thanks for all your great vids! Keep on keepin on
Thanks for the kind words man. I got lots more comin' old stuff, new stuff...
"Apples - The king of homestead fruits for temperate areas" and "growing your own sugar" Brilliant! I love this kind of thing. Thanks for a great video.
Thanks Steven. I found this very interesting. I am always reading and exploring ways others lived before all our modern behaviors became the new normal. Our property has 4 apple trees and every year look for new ways to use them. This type of apple butter sounds amazing.
I think these type of fruit spreads will come into regular use again. It just makes sense and is so delicious. I hope we see a real revival. A few of us is a good start :)
For Starters, you posted this on my Birthday! Awesome! Apple Butter is my favorite!
Secondly, when I make mine it has the consistency of a mayonnaise. Still shelf stable, and very good. Next batch I will cook down longer, and see how I like your version.
Nicely done!
Hi Jordan: Do you use the same basic ingredients and technique? I think as soon as people started canning it, they started making it less dry. My last batches are slightly more moist than this and keeping fine. These batches are still fine after sitting on the shelf for a year and a half.
I’ve watched this video a couple times, I can’t wait to try it. I love your videos and always find them informative
YEESSSS!!! I love bringing back the lost arts, and I can't WAIT to try some of them on my own future homestead! Thank you for this!!
:)
What a gift! Thanks for this awesome video. Looking forward to watching your others!
+Adam DeGraff Thanks Adam!
Excellent video you created here. Much respect for your devotion and effort given to the entire process. Your video has inspired me to want to try it as well in a mostly traditional manner. Thanks.
There’s absolutely nothing better. I made apple butter just as my Grandmother used to.
It was simmered low and slow for 12-14 hrs. Made in a cast iron pot with a heat diffuser under it. It’s considered done when a wooden spoon remains standing straight up.
Best regards
I've been making my own apple butter for years and love the subtle variations I can get by using different apple varieties. My favorite is made from Original Winesap apples but my wife prefers Opal apples herself. Arkansas Black works really well also.
The depth of your research is so very impressive....
I really appreciate all of your efforts here as well as on your website!
+GFD472 Thanks, that's always nice to hear :)
You"re awesome!
Thanks for that recipe I'm trying not to use added sugar to my recipies, this is a good one
Very cool. One small quibble about the nutritional value of apple butter vs fresh apples though. Some nutrients, like vitamin C, are easily destroyed by heat and air. This is why dried fruit like raisins, prunes, apple chips, etc, have virtually no vitamin C or A. So spreading apple butter on toast won't be a perfect substitute for eating a basket of apples. You could eat all you want and still get scurvy. It's outside the scope of your video, but other preservation methods without heat, like fermentation, will preserve these sensitive vitamins. Sauerkraut obviously has lots of vitamin C. Also fermented peppers or hot sauce. I am not sure I'd be excited to eat fermented apples though. Well, if it's fermented with yeast to make alcohol instead of lactobacillus bacteria, I'd be fine with that! :D Also fruit and veg that does not require special preservation, like garlic and onion, are OK sources of vitamin C when fresh fruit and veg are not available. This is also where your apples that keep well, and long hanging apples that will stay on the branches through the winter, are very useful. Or greens like spinach and collards that can survive through cold months. Or root veg that you can leave in the soil, like carrots. Lots of alternative sources, but apple butter alone won't cut it.
On another note, I've been using your suggestions of notching and disbudding to train my apple trees to a modified central leader form. It's the 3rd year now, and it seems to be working well. I have a liberty apple and a William's pride on M7 rootstock, because I wanted to focus on disease resistance. They are replacing an old apple tree, probably on it's own root stock, that died. It had a lot of disease problems. Apple cedar rust, sooty blotch, and fire blight. It was very old and neglected tree, at LEAST 50+ years old, 35+ feet tall. No idea the variety, but made a nice cider. Small green apples, 2 to 3 inch diameter, pale freckles, a little pinkish blush on the skin in the sun, a bit of russeting around the stem, low acid, super crisp, seemed dry (in terms of liquid, not sugar) but pressed a clear and lovely juice. Looked like a golden delicious, but seemed too small and the flavor wasn't right. I made some nice cider with them. I still have some of the apples in the freezer. Since the seed weren't dried first they have probably cracked, but now I am wondering if I should try to start seedlings. Not a lot of room on my yard though.
Anyway, good luck with your projects.
Love this! Perpetuation of ancestral food preservation practices. Thanks for making this video
Excellent information, as always.
Thanks. I liked that project.
Thank you so much for restoring this historic method of preservation! The late Tom Burford recommended several varieties of apple for making apple butter in his book, Apples of North America. Indeed, he included Pumpkin Sweet and Winter Sweet Paradise among the best for making butter.
Recovering lost arts , I like it keep up the good work
I will, thanks!
This is so interesting. My neighbor has 4 apple trees. I got a fruit press and we made cider this last fall. Looking forward to more this coming fall. There is only so much room in the freezer for cider so I'm really excited to try making apple butter this way. Have made the runny stuff in the past which is ok but this looks to be much better. Thanks!!
That's great, you'll love it. All of mine is still good, even from these original batches. I make it quite a bit softer now, otherwise pretty much the same.
Glad I found your channel, most inspirational, binge watching on a wet winter evening. You could make apple cider vinegar from the peel and cores too🍎🍏
Yes, true. I also read about people drying the peelings and using them to make a fermented drink at other times of the year. I think it was pennsylvania dutch. Have fun, I like binge watchers :)
Love your videos ...very interesting
Thank you :)
That looks like quince membrillo! Yum!
My one apple tree fell over in the harsh winter, and the new whips were just planted this year. I'll have to try this when I next get a crop.
Thanks for posting it.
Yes, same thing! You'll love it. So cool.
Yes, here in Spain we make "membrillo" out of quince. But where the weather is too cold for quince to grown, they do it with apples. It's really good, and it goes great with cheese :P We don't peel the fruit, though.
I made some apple butter 18 months ago. I ate some yesterday morning, and it is still completely safe to eat. Been at room temperature the entire time in a mason jar. Thank you for the video
Awesome. I'm sure all mine is still good on the shelf in a room that goes in the high 90's regularly in the summer.
it's really amazing how much we lost from ancestors; so credit to you for reviving some of that; many thanks.
Finally going to man up an try this this year
Real men make apple butter 💪 🍏
Holy freakin cow that looks unreal! Now I need like 8,000 apple trees! This would cook on top of the wood stove all winter long, make the house smell good and use zero additional fuel for cooking. Score!
This was a fun and delicious project! I did the lame city boy version by using supermarket apples and apple cider, but the process was nevertheless enjoyable and the final product well worth the effort. Also, congrats on reaching 6k subscribers!
Thanks! That last thousand came pretty quick, so I think things are picking up. I managed to pull off a small batch this year with miscellaneous windfalls and stuff and it is really great stuff. The old batches are still going strong too.
setting a note in my calendar to check back with you in 2028 about your apple butter batch. I'm looking forward to trying this myself.
Ha, good idea. I think I'm over 3 years now and not a speck of mold or other signs of spoilage.
This really closely resembles membrillo, which is based on quince instead of apples. But the idea is the same: you boil down some pared quinces in sugar water until it breaks down and turns dark and stiff.
I imagine that the basic template for this recipe can apply to pretty much any pomaceous fruit. Pears, medlars, shipovas, serviceberries, rosehips, etc.
Yes, it's very similar, but no sugar. And yeah, it is applied to many other fruits. People have commented about various other similar products from around the world.
Great video, now i want to try to make my own!
My family makes similar jellies and pastes (sometimes called cheeses) from quince and crabapples (not together). The pastes are best with cheese, where the jellies are best with meat. Fantastic dying art!
That's great. I've heard from some other people about various similar products made with different fruits. Good stuff.
Gonna have to try this method next time I process apples. I did a big batch of apple processing 2 years ago and I can see why one might only want to do it every 7 years... Its quite a project. To give you an idea of scale, I saved all the peels and cores to brew into apple cider vinegar and ended up with 10 gallons of it. Since we don't consume them all too fast, we still have some left.
That's an epic scale. The stuff seems to keep super well as long as it can't absorb moisture or dry out. The apples do have to be adequately sweet though.
I made apple butter for the first time this past winter. I used an old hand potato masher to break up the apples to make it faster lol. I did not cook mine down long enough it was a little bit thinner then I would have liked it. It tasted wonderful although I did not make it like this. Thank you for sharing this I am going to try it like this! All the best, Dawn
+SouthPaw Bushcraft This stuff is really different than anything I've had before. I love it. Seems to be keeping well so far at room temp in the kitchen...
Hi there! David the Good sent me here to see your bio char methods. Now I remember seeing your vid on Egyptian Walking Onions! I’m really enjoying mine! This no added sugar apple butter is very interesting to me! Thank you for putting this together and sharing it! New subscriber here!
Hi Carol. DTG rocks! Welcome.
I found you through DTG, too! 😊 Thank you for all your efforts to make these awesome videos! My family, especially my 16 year old daughter, is so interested in homesteading skills and self sufficiency, and your content has been extremely appreciated.
Fascinating, well done.
Contact Jas. Townsend and Son, Inc. for old school cooking. He has a TH-cam channel.
Yes, thank you I actually sent them a link to this video when I first published it and chatted with them. Very cool channel.
great channel. apples, crafts, and biochemistry are all extremely interesting to me.
7 years and waiting!
Just put this together to make. Making it in my 1954 Westinghouse 16 QT cooker. Using 3 gallons of liquid to equal "Honey" based apples. Wish I could leave a picture of it.
awesome. Be real careful not to caramelize or burn it. Lots of stirring at the end, or some people put it in a slow oven to finish.
Will do thanks !!! I'm planning on turning the heat down to a simmer for the PM and let it just reduce slowly. BTW I really enjoy your posts and your down to earth intelligence. I think you downplay how smart you really are. Kudos on everything.
I think it's more important to concentrate on how smart we aren't, more likely to make us smarter :)
;-) agree
You mention "sweet" apples that i find interesting. A pomology expert said to me that only here on the island of Gotland (Sweden) sweet apples where saved and cultivated, not in the rest of the country. I try to save scions of an old tree to graft here and there to save this variety. These apples are not necessarily very god for eating...
Do you have any thoughts about sweet apples in your area? Are they saved/grown today? Are there any particular varieties? Any interest among growers in general?
Best regards
Henrik Uddemar
+Henrik Uddemar I know some are still available, but I haven't spent time specifically research them. I had collected a few that would probably fall under that type, mostly used for hard cider now, but I don't think I have them anymore. I'll be looking now though. My guess is that most of them have been lost, since it may be one of the types of apples that has the least interest for people. But I think there could be a revival if people understood their potential. Boiled cider, reduced to basically a syrup, is an amazing food. They used to use them for stock feed too. I think you are right, most of them were not good to eat. A good way to research them is to go to google books and search for Sweeting apple, or sweet apple variety. Then narrow the search to 1700 to about 1920. I'll post a link here if it's not too long, but I'm resisting the temptation to do that research right now, ha ha :) www.google.com/search?q=sweeting+apple&safe=off&biw=1255&bih=675&source=lnt&tbs=cdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A1%2F1%2F1700%2Ccd_max%3A12%2F31%2F1920&tbm=bks
+SkillCult My aim is to graft the wild apple trees where my sheep grace, so i aim for stock feed.
BTW, big thank you for your our very interesting movies. They are highly appreciated. Again big thanks.
Your channel is awesome! Greetings from Brazil.
+Lucasrod Thanks so much. Greetings back from California!
We make it in the Northeast for historical reenactments. It's also sold at farm stands pretty regularly in NJ and Lancaster County, PA. You're absolutely right about using more juice. There'd just be too much fiber (pulp) leftover after the cooking. Lovely stuff, Steven.
P.S. I remember watching about this this traveling still in Normandy, France that would be used to make calvados from neighbors apples. You should try some distilling when you get the funds. At the very least applejack via freezing (if NorCal gets that cold) and ideally, redistilling the ice applejack. I would be curious about the results. Alcohol is something that every homestead should have access to. For medical reasons. Meaning sterilization. But drinking apple brandy that's aged in apple/oak barrels would be AMAZING.
Cheers from Poland.
They also make it in a large kettle/pan over an open wood fire in the NE. They'd always say that it was a family/ies affair because they would all have to take turns scraping the pan with a large wooden paddle.
I've had calvados before, it's amazing. Someday! The Apple jack has to be made in extremely cold temps. I don't have those here, though I do have a freezer...
My grandma used to jar her apple butter and I remember some capped with wax then a lid.
Yeah, my mom did that with jellies sometimes. that's old school hot packing.
came across your blog when looking up an apple butter recipe. i'm trying my hand at canning for the first time and wanted to make apple sauce. then vague inklings of this "apple butter" thing came to mind. i had no idea that apple butter is shelf stable as is! (or, at least when prepared this way). thanks for sharing all your research , it's fascinating. and for making really explicit how usda regulation has gone hand-in-hand with ball corporation's canning technology. ball's stranglehold has been really bugging me as i'm preparing to can and learning about the process. like, ball's blue book being ubiquitous (i $ ball), the idea of replacing lids every year (i pay $) having me looking into using bail lid jars, only to find that the usda recommends against them, only to find that means that the usda has apparently not tested them - i'm assuming so that, ultimately, i pay ball $. you've really helped me to parse apart the very recent tech/practice of canning from preserving food more generally, so thank you. i'm wondering: 4 years later, how's your apple butter holding up? any updates?
european jars are at least mostly rubber seals and glass lids. That was the old American system between bail jars and what we have now. Occasionally you can find the glass lids. some are free disks and some are embedded in zinc lids, but both used rubber seals. Those could be revived and used with the jars and rings we have now. Tattler has some but they are plastic. I would also look at silicone seals instead of rubber. Should be longer lasting and probably absorb flavors less.
I love this video, what is the Apple that was red when you opened it?
It's called Grenadine. I just did a couple of videos that talk about it. th-cam.com/video/i96PM4DHS-E/w-d-xo.html I did a follow up to this one too when they are a little riper.
I found your channel yesterday when it was posted on reddit. I've watched almost all your videos now. I'm saving up money to buy a small piece of land to homestead. You are an inspiration.
The 2 jars in this video of apple butter, they were only covered with the paper? No lid? This is amazing really, I guess we are so squeamish these days and want everything sterile.
Keep up the great work! I never comment on TH-cam but I was compelled here.
+Andy Etherton One has a circle of baking parchment (like waxed paper, waterproof) over the butter itself and another has a circle of brown paper bag. Those are covered with brown paper bag only, which is what a lot of the accounts seemed to recommend. It maybe better to have it breathe? dunno. I guess I'll find out. One has a regular lid. I was just eyeing them on the shelf wondering how they are doing. I think the trick is really just high enough sugar and low enough water. Something approaching fruit leather. I'm glad you like my channel. future homesteaders is one of the audiences I want to reach and cater to most. Thanks for the comment!
Wait.... There's no butter in apple butter?? Holy hell, mind blown! I just picked a bushel, gonna go get more and do this. I'm so excited!!
You won't be sorry. It's so good and keeps great. I just put it up in canning jars now, or any jar with a sealing lid. Two other cool products are apple syrup and cider jelly (in dutch, applestroop). THey are just pure juice, but one it cooked down more than the other. You have to be real careful with all of them to avoid burning, or even caramelization. Some use a low oven or crock pot to avoid that. Glad you're trying it :)
I love that you are trying to preserve this #lostWays of making #appleButter #preserves! But, what I'd really like to know is what is the name of that cool #fontFace you are using in your intro preamble?
I can't remember. I think I lost the two fonts like that which I used to use in a system reinstall. I found them searching for rustic fonts, but it probably took half a day.
Awesome video! I've made apple butter from my apples and this last year also made my first apple wine. I was pretty convinced to put all my apples into wine next year but this video piqued my interest. I've used modern day recipes for apple butter and it never compelled me to eat it, such a great point that you make about fresh apples.
I'm definitely going to give those recipes you posted a look over, thanks for that by the way, I'm fascinated with old recipes and techniques. Plus, seven year storage without canning? Yes please.
+durable1988 Yeah, 7 years right? Or 25! That totally got my attention.
first time viewer! I cant wait to try and make this.
I'm all about it. The first batch and last years batch are 100% stable on the shelf even through lots of hot weather!
This is awesome man
Hi, it is not a completely lost art. Here in Europe we make this kind of jam with Quince. We even call it Quince butter. If we make it from Zwetschge it is called Powidl. Apple butter is rare though. The most common is maybe Powidl. You usually do not add sugar (or at least very little) like in your recipe. I store my Powidl in yars to protect it from mold.
Thanks. I have heard from a few people about different similar products from around the world. I've had the quince butter before, but with sugar added.
SkillCult SkillCult Hi, I forgot to mention that I make my quince butter and my Powidl in the oven. I start, like you did, in a pan and reduce the liquid to about 50%, add the fruit and then I put the pan into the oven for four to six hours at a temperature between 120° to 150°C. Much less stirring needed and much lower risk to burn the whole thing. My impression is, that it produces more caramel flavors this way. Keep on with you videos. They are great content.
Thanks. I did read about that in some of the old accounts as well. It seems better. My friend does the quince butter that way.
I am eating some apple butter that I made in 2020 using your recipe and it was pretty loose when I made it. It’s still just about the same consistency. I will update in 24 hours and let you know if I’m wracked with gastrointestinal discomfort. (I doubt I will be)
Steven,
Any update on your research into the 'sweet' or 'sweeting' variety of apples that you mentioned at the 5:15 mark? I am interested in putting in some apples trees specifically for making apple butter and would love your input on the high sugar varieties.
It's a class of apples. They are usually called sweetings, and many have sweet in the name. I actually don't have any of them and never pursued collecting them. They are not very common or popular anymore, but some are still around.
@@SkillCult I have been looking for sweeting varieties but I am having some trouble locating them. I have found apples with sweet in the name and that's a start.
Thanks Steven!
@@GFD472 go to google books and use search terms like > sweeting apples < or search for specific sweetings like Pumpkin Sweet and you should find some stuff. Once you get the names, search the net for NAME APPLE VARIETY eg. Pumkin Sweet Apple Variety to see if you can find modern sources or info
@@SkillCult Great idea. I'll do that. Thanks!
What apple tree varieties would be best for applebutter ?
I think they are typically blends. Sweet apples will be good, but probably any large amount of mixed ripe apples would be fine.
If you put it in jars with lids whilst still hot, it should be very easy to pasteurise. After which you'd expect it could last for years, if kept unopened.
But the great thing about this stuff is that it will last for years even opened as long as it doesn't either dry out, or attract moisture and become wetter, both solved by a lid. My oldest is now two years old and still fine.
Very interesting video. Thanks for posting! Was there any difference between the three storage techniques?
+Blake J I'm not too far in yet, but I think they're all going to be fine. I took a peek yesterday and the one with the regular lid looks perfect, like I just sealed it up. I'll know more next year! or in 7 years, ha!
Yum and best on that crusty homemade bread.
yep. I had to stop eating wheat for health reasons (no I dont' think it's evil ;) and now there is just nothing to eat apple butter and jam with. Nothing else is the same :'(
New subscriber here! September 2024. Looks like an awesome informative sight.
What effects does the copper from the kettles do to the applebutter?
Good question, but I can say it's not necessary. I would avoid the copper for health reasons. Even then they knew it was toxic, which is mentioned in at least one of the old recipes.
When I was growing up (60s and 70s) we'd drive up to the mountains of Virginia every fall and get several bushels of apples of several varieties. Once we came upon a group of 5 or 6 old ladies in long dresses and bonnets at one of the orchards up there making apple butter. They were cooking the apples in a very large cast iron kettle over an open flame and stirring it with wooden paddles. They were at the stage where they were going to add the spices, cinnamon, and cloves and they would muddle the spices by crushing and chewing it in their mouths (the ones that had teeth) and would basically spit the muddled spices into the kettle until they'd spiced it to their liking.
Wow, that's really cool. Sounds like you caught a glimpse of some dying history there.
we're using apple butter that we pressure canned in 2010. too much sugar for us now and most people our age got sick of eating it during WW2 and the 50s. it was a poor families sandwich spread back then,, we used Empire and golden delicious apples that yr. it's stored in the basement out of the light and sometimes does get up to 75 down there.
great job.
That shxx looks frickin delicious!
Really wanted to view this but the red text was not visible against the background. Very hard to read.
I’m really becoming interested in more traditional ways of preparing food for long term storage there’s so many out there from apple butter to kimchi
have you found any [ sweeting ?] apples,, if so what growing zones would they grow? as i have never heard of this type of apple thank you for the videos
Cinnamon and cloves are natural antifungals and keep the mold from growing on applebutter. What are your thoughts on this? Is oil of cinnamon and oil of cloves better than natural cinnamon and cloves. I like the oil version better but not really sure which is the better antifungal.
I have batches that are keeping very well with neither and many of the old recipes don't call for them either. So it appears not to be necessary. I would guess the amount you would need to make a significant impact would be unpalatable as well. I like them, but the butter is really good without too. I'd just use them to taste and not worry about it. I think the keys are moisture and sugar levels, or more like the balance between those two.
That looks like it works. The only pot of apple butter given me was somewhat thicker & darker than applesauce we make. Wouldn't keep a week at room temperature! Fascinating what you've done. I'll follow your example at the next opportunity. BTW, did you check Brix on your old apples before making the butter? I have Hunt Russet, which ripens to 18 & 19 Brix. Then there is Wickson, which can go even higher. Might be worth trying - although pealing Wickson Crab might not be a chore you want!
Still useful information. It’s been five years, how is it doing? What were those apples that had that dark red flesh?
I have some that is 5 or 6 years old and it's still totally fine and delicious. That was Grenadine. It's has some issues, but it has amazing flavor. I have a new seedling of it called Black Strawberry that's really interesting too, but it's not as red.
In all of your reading, did you come across any information on using this technique for fruits other than apples? I have access to a large amount of peaches and have been curious. Also, is the fruit to juice ratio by volume or weight? Thank you much!
Not peaches that I recall, but I definitely heard of similar preparations from commenters on the web from pears and other fruits from various places in the world. I think it's acidity, sugar content and low moisture. The recipe is to use a similar measure (volume) of juice to apples. So most of the apples get juiced, then you take so much juice to so much of whole apples, usually around 1:1 ratio. I think that is because they measure the ingredients by barrels and begin boiling the barrel of juice while they peeled the barrel of whole apples. Good luck. Judging the consistency is important and it has to be cool in order to judge the consistency. If the fruit is not that sweet, I'd consider adding sugar. Have fun :)
How could I juice the alppes whithout a juicer
Apples are hard, so it's hard to juice them. I don't know an easy way. I see juicers at thrift stores here pretty often. Apple presses are expensive.
First of all: Hello and thank you for a very good video. Second: I'm an extremely lazy person so if there's an easier way to do something and get the same results I will find.
I tried using an electric juicer but found it took a lot of work getting the quantity of juice I needed so now I use a steamer juicer and it sooo much easier. It look like this: www.amazon.com/Cook-Home-NC-00256-11-Quart-Stainless-Steel/dp/B0055Q2D2W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505737470&sr=8-1&keywords=steamer+juicer (I used the skillcult referral link to find it. I did not check for best prizes I just chose the first one on the list so you might want to shop around) Mine is an older model I enherited from my mother - thank you diy craze of the 70'es - so you might also be able to find one in a thrift shop.
I use all the fallen apples that are unstoreable because of bruises and maturity to make juice from. You quater the apples and bang them in the pot core, skins and all. My apples are quite tart so I sprinkled 100g of sugar to the 3 kg of apple my pot holds to sweeten the juice a little. Then I leave it to cook at a low to medium heat for about 10-12 hours. I do it overnight so when I get up the next day I can tap, bottle, do that boily thing where you put the canned goods in water for 10mins to kill bacteria and then store the juice. Juice contains a lot of water so paturarisation is necessary. Once it's cooled you can feed chickens with what's left in pot. You're not waisting apples because the apples used are the ones that are so small you can't be bothered peeling and coring them.
I’ll have to try this. Although my apple butter tastes great, it’s never thick enough. Thank you! September 2024
Only been 4 years but can you say what you think now? Also, do you do apple cider? Hard cider? Brandy?
I've done hard cider, but not in a while. Apple butter is still great at a hot room temp!
It is 2021 how is the apple butter holding up? Thanks.
Totally fine! All batches are still good.
@@SkillCult That is amazing. Thanks.
Hey I've been trying to make this stuff, but without success so far. I think my problem is that my juicer is leaving in too much fiber (it's a masticating type, not a centrifugal). I just wind up with a runny applesauce after I boil it down. Could you recommend a good centrifugal juicer that would help me get the pure juice from the apples?
Doesn't sound right. Probably either not enough sugar or you aren't cooking it down long enough. It has. to cook way down. Otherwise, not sure.
When making apple butter, is it important to sterilize the jars first, like in canning?
I don't believe it's necessary. I may have scalded mine, I often do, but spores and bacteria are going to get in there, so probably as long as the jar is clean I would think it's okay. We are not relying on the absence of spoilage organisms which are everywhere, but relying instead on creating conditions which prevent their growth or even result in their death such as low moisture and high sugar.
What kind of apples where the ones with the red flesh?
That variety is Grenadine. It's not the best apple ever, but it has some amazing flavors in there.
Yeah, is marmalade ! No need to add sugar , you can do it from other fruits as well.
Thank you. many people have commented about different preparations like this from apples and other fruits from around the world. Here what people call marmalade is orange peel jam with tons of sugar.
@@SkillCult we in Romania are making marmelade mostly from apples.
@@RobertoMariusPopa In America there is a complex of products like this. Apple Jelly is just juice cooked down, Apple syrup and molasses is thicker, apple butter. and there was a thicker apple cheese. I think they came originally here from Germany.
Cool video. I just subscribed here and to the web site. You were referred by Todd the Survival Sherpa.
Great, thanks for letting me know.
Is any of the apple butter still around and good to eat? Really curious about how shelf stable it is.
All of it is still good. There has never been the slightest sign of spoilage.
Thanks, good to hear. Which lid system are you sticking with?
@@mostlychimp5715 Just a regular screw lid or anything else that doesn;t allow the exchange of air. Otherwise it could dry out, or absorb moisture depending on the conditions. Best just get it how you want it and keep it that way by keeping air exchange to a minimum.
Since posting, have you found any sources for scions of cultivars you're referencing? Are we talking about sweets or bittersweet apples, or both? Certainly there's a bit of a renaissance in the bittersharp/bittersweet cider cultivars..makes me wonder if some bittersweets would be good for apple butter.
I would stay away from bitters probably, though some tannin no doubt is not only okay, but should contribute to the quality as not even dessert apples should be without some tannin and many of the best have quite a bit. Who knows till you try it I guess though. The sweets as a group I think tend to be just heavy on the sugar and probably low on acid, though I never get to taste them. They can be found, though I wouldn't doubt that many are lost. Pound Sweet is common enough. think I got a scion for that last year. Other good choices for sugar to look at are Golden Harvey, Golden Russet, Wickson, Muscat de Venus (tastes incredibly sweet, though I haven't brix tested it). Those are more multi-use apples being good for out of hand eating.
Could this work with mulberries, cherries etc. ?
There are similar fruit spreads for other fruits, or mixed. I think it is mostly about if there is enough sugar. but also getting it cooked down far enough to get water out.
So how stiff is it?
These batches were pretty stiff, but my newer batches are much less so. It can be made verty easily spreadable. It's really had to quantify that though.
What a great life. I envy people from the country for I live in Vancouver and it sucks. There's nothing nice about Vancouver but what people who don't live there say is nice about Vancouver. Or some'in
Oooh i remember juice makers in 1891...lol lol.. Brought over on the Mayflower wasn't it? 😜
www.walmart.com/ip/Costway-1-6-Gallon-Fruit-Wine-Press-Cider-Apple-Grape-Crusher-Juice-Maker-Tool-Wood/104343678?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=1848&adid=22222222227066673483&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=170958493171&wl4=pla-275701450726&wl5=9033027&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=113146030&wl11=online&wl12=104343678&wl13=&veh=sem
I found the instructions on quantities confusing. It said something along the lines of equal measures of whole apples (but not pared apples) to juice. I'm assuming you fill your container with juice and then you pour that into the pot, and then you fill your container with spacious whole apples and it results in not many whole apples being required?
It would have been quite helpful to have had a shot where the comparison in quantities of each as you used them was shown, but of course it probably took ages of painful staged shots as it was to get the video you've kindly provided.
+Richard Tew Thanks for the feedback. It's kind of confusing that the recipes only compare juice to whole apples. I eventually realized that it actually makes some sense though, since you start with as much juice as you have or whatever and just save aside a roughly equal quantity of whole apples, which are easier to measure before you start paring. All of that could happen as juice as being pressed even. I thought it might be confusing and I probably should have spent more time figuring out how to communicate that better in 10 seconds. The gist of it is that the proportions vary, but a common recommendation seemed to be a little less of whole apples by volume than cider. I think the more cider you use the better to a point, so I'm pretty sure you could go down to a proportion of about 1 to .75 or so, and up to 1:1 I actually was not able to really measure either time and sort of did a combination of guessing and intuition in adding apples. I tried to err on the side of fewer apples and more juice.
+Richard Tew This was the part I had trouble with as well, I hope he clears it up in the comments! I love this channel.
It’s been 8 years now , any update?
All good. None has every gone bad or anything, still tastes fine.
So it's been 5 years can we get a update?
I should do one, but short version is it's all good. Stuff seems to last forever.