Apple Butter

Allow me to share with you a small 24 hour glimpse into the grueling Saturday life of this Vegetarian Slow Cooker.  Life in the slow lane is not for everyone.  So buckle up and take notes.

10:00 PM Cut up apples and dump in crock with sugar. Remember not to turn it  on.

10:10 PM Watch missed episode of  Project Runway. File nails. Check email. Squish cellulite. Brush teeth. 11:08 PM Go to bed and stare at ceiling for several hours. 8:00 AM Wake up.  

8:01 AM Add a few spices to crock and (this was really hard) turn it ON.   

8:03 AM Go back to bed. 12:00 PM Wake up to the smell of cinnamon apples. Nuke a bowl of soup. Take shower. Change clothes.  12:30 PM Read multi-page flame war on internet bulletin bored/board and the 4 hyperlinks to previous related flame wars.  Read a strange blog. Wonder with righteous indignation where these people get the time to engage in such wasteful activities on the internet.  Secretly know that their homes must be pigsties. Think about dusting.  3:38 PM Take a nap.

4:45 PM Wake up. Grab stored Balsamic Caramelized Onions with Raisins and Pine Nuts, Chevre, and an apple from fridge. Head over to Mrs. "Tree Beard's" house. 5:00 PM Hang out at Mrs "TreeBeards". 5:30 PM Assemble pizza & bake it. Take pictures of pizza and eat it.  6:10 PM Talk about strange people who have no life.7:00 PM Drive home.

7:15 PM Take lid off crock pot and turn up heat.

7:16 PM Return an email.Write about my adventures with Mrs "Treebeard" and upload photos, while snacking. Think about making the bed. Decide to lie in it instead.

8:30 PM Turn off crock pot, start two pots of water on stove. 8:32 PM Lie down and rest. 

9:00 PM Grab box of canning jars and canning tools. Wash jars, lids, other implements and toss in hot water. Use an immersion blender to blend contents of crock. Wash immersion blender and put away.  9:06 PM Pour apple butter into clean jars and put on lids. Put jars of apple butter in boiling water on stove. Wash and dry all dishes, wipe down counters, put dishes away, sweep the floor, look at side reflection in window, consider a new hairstyle. Stand around for 4 minutes, bored.  9:25 PM Remove apple butter from hot water bath. Take pictures of finished apple butter. 9:30 PM Butter some bread, slather with apple butter that didn't fit in the jars and share with other house mates. Thank God that tomorrow is the sabbath and a day of rest.

Winner, Loser or Meh

This is great.  A true winner. Worth all the back breaking effort.  Wipes sweat from brow.  Note:  It is very important to keep the apples unpeeled.  The pectin in the skin is what makes the apple butter firm up. 

Recipe

I used a 6 quart crock for this.  This makes 4 pints of Apple Butter.I used 8  1/2 pint jars.

Ingredients:

• 6 pounds tart cooking apples, cored, chopped, unpeeled (I used Fujii's and Granny Smith's -organic)
• 3  1/2 cups sugar or combination sugar and brown sugar (I used 3 cups sugar, organic pure cane and  1/2 cup dark brown sugar)
• 3 tsps cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp salt
  

Spray crock with no stick cooking spray.  Layer apples and sugar.  Cover and let sit all day at room temperature, or overnight. The apples will have reduced in size and there will be a pool of apple juice at the bottom.  Add spices, stir.  Cover and cook on low for 9-11 hours.  Remove lid and cook on high for 1 hour or more until the apple butter is dark and getting thick.  Use an immersion blender to blend smooth.  It becomes thicker when refrigerated.

This makes about 4 pints and then some.  That which will not be used immediately, may be canned, and processed in a hot water bath for shelf storage.  This also freezes well.