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Toast with homemade apple butter lifted and about to be eaten

Pap Steve's Grandma-Approved Apple Butter (Water-Bath Canned)

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The tested NCHFP apple butter recipe for boiling-water canning: apples cooked soft in cider and vinegar, pressed smooth, then cooked down with sugar and spices. It has no thickeners and includes an optional slow-cooker cook-down.
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Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 4 hours
Servings: 10 pints (about 9-10)
Course: Condiment / Spread
Cuisine: American
Calories: 17
Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
  

The Apples
  • 8 lbs apples Jonathan, Winesap, Stayman, Golden Delicious, McIntosh, or other tasty varieties
  • 2 cups apple cider
  • 2 cups vinegar amount as tested; do not change
The Sweet & Spice
  • 2 1/4 cups white sugar
  • 2 1/4 cups brown sugar packed
  • 2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp ground cloves

Method
 

  1. Fill the boiling-water canner, set the rack in, and start heating.
  2. Wash the apples, remove the stems, then quarter and core them. No need to peel.
  3. Cook the apples slowly in the cider and vinegar until soft.
  4. Press the fruit through a food mill, colander, or strainer to make a smooth pulp.
  5. Cook the pulp with both sugars, the cinnamon, and the cloves, stirring frequently, until thick. Optional: do this cook-down in a slow cooker on LOW for about 8-10 hours, with the lid ajar and occasional stirring (OSU Extension).
  6. Sterilize half-pint or pint jars: cover them with hot water to 1 inch above the tops and boil 10 minutes. Above 1,000 ft, add 1 minute per additional 1,000 ft. Quart jars need not be presterilized.
  7. Test for doneness: a spoonful held away from the steam for 2 minutes stays mounded, or no rim of liquid separates around a spoonful on a plate.
  8. Fill the hot butter into the hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe the rims, and put on the lids and bands.
  9. Process in a boiling-water canner (hot pack). Half-pints or pints: 5 min at 0-1,000 ft, 10 min at 1,001-6,000 ft, 15 min above 6,000 ft. Quarts: 10, 15, and 20 min.
  10. Cool the jars undisturbed on a towel for 12-24 hours, then check the seals. Refrigerate any jar that didn't seal.

Nutrition

Serving: 1TbspCalories: 17kcalCarbohydrates: 4.4gSodium: 1mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 4g

Notes

  • Source: NCHFP, Apple Butter, https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can/canning-fruits-and-fruit-products/apple-butter/ (adapted from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, 2015).
  • Slow-cooker method: OSU Extension, Fruit butters, https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/sp-50-304-fruit-butters.
  • Do not add thickeners (flour, cornstarch, Clear Jel, pectin). Do not alter the sugar, vinegar, or spice amounts.
  • For a lower-sugar version, use NCHFP's separate Reduced Sugar Apple Butter recipe and its own, longer process times.
  • Yield per NCHFP: about 9-10 pints.
  • Store on a cool, dry, dark shelf with the bands removed. Label and date the jars.

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