My first Attempt at canning (correctly) Apple Butter last night turned out pretty well I have to admit. I have been making apple butter in the fall about every other year or when I could get a hold of enough good apples to make a batch. Usually it doesn't last long!
So I acquired apples on Sunday on our way home from Bill's family reunion in Arkansas, $8.50 for a half bushel. They looked pretty good and I dug down in the basket to make sure the good ones weren't just on the top.
Once I started peeling them on Sunday evening, I discovered that they were softer than I thought. My apple peeler was having a hard time holding on to the core, I ended up peeling a lot of them by hand which I don’t like doing. (That’s harder work!)
But I Finally got most of them in the crock pot and ready to season. Brown sugar, cinnamon, and a dash of all spice and away we go. I am out of cloves I found but I’ve done it without the cloves before and it turns out pretty good. They go into the Crock Pot on low over night or about 12 hours.
Yesterday I took the lid off the pot and let them cook down a bit since they were pretty wet. Then I realized I didn’t have any lids for my canning jars. So a trip to several stores looking for lids and I finally was ready to can.
I washed the jars and lids in the dishwasher and kept them in there until ready to fill. You want the jars warm so that when you immerse them into the simmering water they don’t break. I found that I only had enough to fill 2 pint jars, one jelly jar (going right into the fridge for our use right away) and had a smidge left that I put in Tupperware for use right away.
I filled my jars, set them in the basket and dunked them in making sure that the water was covering the jars. Bring them to a boil for 15 minutes and then turn the heat off and let them set for 5 before taking them out of the water and setting them on the counter or table to stand for 12 hours (overnight in my case). I warned the kids that if they heard a popping sound over night it was just the jars sealing and it was ok. About 5:30 this morning I heard the distinctive POP! I checked them by pressing on the top of the lid – no give so they sealed perfectly! They are ready to put in the cupboard for storage for use this winter.
Meanwhile, I have another batch of apple butter in the crock pot now – I made the mistake of posting on Facebook that I was canning Apple Butter and have already gotten 3 requests!
So I acquired apples on Sunday on our way home from Bill's family reunion in Arkansas, $8.50 for a half bushel. They looked pretty good and I dug down in the basket to make sure the good ones weren't just on the top.
Once I started peeling them on Sunday evening, I discovered that they were softer than I thought. My apple peeler was having a hard time holding on to the core, I ended up peeling a lot of them by hand which I don’t like doing. (That’s harder work!)
But I Finally got most of them in the crock pot and ready to season. Brown sugar, cinnamon, and a dash of all spice and away we go. I am out of cloves I found but I’ve done it without the cloves before and it turns out pretty good. They go into the Crock Pot on low over night or about 12 hours.
Yesterday I took the lid off the pot and let them cook down a bit since they were pretty wet. Then I realized I didn’t have any lids for my canning jars. So a trip to several stores looking for lids and I finally was ready to can.
I washed the jars and lids in the dishwasher and kept them in there until ready to fill. You want the jars warm so that when you immerse them into the simmering water they don’t break. I found that I only had enough to fill 2 pint jars, one jelly jar (going right into the fridge for our use right away) and had a smidge left that I put in Tupperware for use right away.
I filled my jars, set them in the basket and dunked them in making sure that the water was covering the jars. Bring them to a boil for 15 minutes and then turn the heat off and let them set for 5 before taking them out of the water and setting them on the counter or table to stand for 12 hours (overnight in my case). I warned the kids that if they heard a popping sound over night it was just the jars sealing and it was ok. About 5:30 this morning I heard the distinctive POP! I checked them by pressing on the top of the lid – no give so they sealed perfectly! They are ready to put in the cupboard for storage for use this winter.
Meanwhile, I have another batch of apple butter in the crock pot now – I made the mistake of posting on Facebook that I was canning Apple Butter and have already gotten 3 requests!
No comments:
Post a Comment