You might expect that the tradition of making apple butter — outdoors and by the vat — would have disappeared long ago. It's time-consuming, labor-intensive: the anti-everything of our American age. And if the zeitgeist were not strong enough to do in the custom, the popularity of the slow cooker — dump in apples, press a button and walk away — should have banished it for good.
And yet the annual apple-butter gatherings survive. Throughout Appalachia and much of the South, families congregate in their backyards to stock up for the season, while churches, schools and social clubs join forces to make apple butter for community fundraisers.
As with most historic foodways, the tradition of making of apple butter began as a way to fill a need. Apples thrive in the mountains; perhaps counterintuitively, a slight elevation protects them from frost damage. Early settlers were keen to preserve the abundance. Fresh apples could be stored in a cold house or sliced and dried. But apple butter, with its concentrated sugars, was a powerful way to extend shelf life before refrigeration. Each fall, families would assemble to make fun of the hard work of putting up.
At one time there were as many as 1,600 varieties of apples in southern and central Appalachia. Today, according to Slow Food's Renewing America's Food Traditions Alliance, more than 600 remain. There are Adam and Eves and Arkansas Blacks, Limbertwigs, Maiden's Blush, and Yorks. No wonder the alliance's founder, ethnobotanist Gary Paul Nabhan, has dubbed the region "Apple-achia."
The other big question — what exactly do you do with 100 or so jars of apple butter? Stick it on a cheese plate, put it in marinades for chicken or pork, or spoon a giant dollop into the batter for apple cake. Or you really can't beat apple butter French toast. If you're a bourbon lover, a dab of apple butter sands the sharp edges of a classic Old Fashioned.
Apple butter, while delicious, is typically labor-intensive, but this slow cooker version allows you to enjoy the spread with minimal hands-on time. Just peel, core and chop the apples, and the slow cooker will do the heavy lifting. Extra jars of this deeply flavorful spread make a thoughtful gift.
Storage: To put up apple butter long-term, ladle it into sterilized glass jars and follow the jar manufacturer's directions. Otherwise, ladle the butter into clean jars, cover and refrigerate for up to 8 weeks.
Slow Cooker Apple Butter
6 pounds apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground clove
Place the apples in the slow cooker and cook, uncovered, on high for 1 hour.
Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. The apples will have lost at least a third of their volume and should break and crumble when you poke them with a fork. Taste and add the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, salt and clove and stir well to combine.
Turn the heat back up to high, cover and cook for 1 hour more. Taste and adjust the spices, then puree the apples with an immersion or regular blender, or in a food processor to make a velvety smooth apple butter.
Makes about 10 cups.
Nutrition information: Each 2-tablespoon serving contains approximately 40 calories, no protein, no fat, 10 g carbohydrate (9 g sugar), no cholesterol, 5 mg sodium and no fiber.
Recipe adapted from Victuals by Ronni Lundy (Clarkson Potter, 2016).
A traditional Old-Fashioned doesn't require a shake, but to infuse the apple butter flavor, I've added a "dry shake" — without ice — in a cocktail shaker.
Apple Butter Old Fashioned
2 ounces bourbon
1 tablespoon apple butter
3 dashes Angostura bitters
1 apple slice, to garnish
Add the bourbon, apple butter and bitters to an empty cocktail shaker. Shake for 20 to 30 seconds, then strain into a tumbler over one large or three small ice cubes. Garnish with an apple slice and serve right away.
Makes 1 drink.
Nutrition information: Each drink contains approximately 160 calories, no protein, no fat, 8 g carbohydrate (8 g sugar), no cholesterol, no sodium and no fiber.
Food on 10/16/2019