I
could find only one recipe' without sugar.
But
Wikipedia's
apple butter page is very extensive.
- A large box of apples cored and chopped inside a 5 gallon pot. Do not remove the peel! Skins and Peels have pectin in them. If you just cannot eat peel, blend them into the apple sauce. Bushel will fill a 5 gal pot if chipped enough. Then cook down to about 3.5 gallons. Or less if you keep simmering it and stirring it.
- For apple butter, cook slowly as possible to keep it from burning. Evaporating most of the water. This can take all day.
To
start the cooking add Apple-cider or apple-cider Vinegar a tiny over
¼ cup per
expected finished quart.
Five gallon pot of chopped apples made 14 quarts with one quart of
vinegar. It is very tart made from summer apples! (One
quart is 16 one quarter cups)
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Ginger
- Allspice !!
- Lemon juice and rind zest (optional)
After
cooking add
[always to taste!]
- Then add a 2 to 4 of boxes of pectin (optional) dissolved (the low sugar, Sure Jell pink box), stir and put in jars to cook under hot water to seal.
If
you have enough energy you could blend it in strong machine for more
buttery texture. But if chopped small enough it will be good enough.
Never
use sugar with apples. If you think you need more sugar, go to a
mental hospital before you kill your self.
Sugar
is used as a preservative and helps make it more acid that is why the
apples were simmered down more than apple sauce. But cider vinegar is
a good acidifier. Apples have a natural pH
of about 4.6, but it can't hurt to add a little more acid; like about
one or two pints for the five gallon pot, that makes 3.5 gallon sauce
(14 qts).
The
real difference between apple sauce and the butter
is that the butter has been evaporated more and ends up being sweater
for longer storage.
 |
| 5 gallon pot on 1/2 inch aluminum plate on large burner |
