Apple Butter – Homemade and Delicious

Apple Butter

I save making Apple Butter or pickling for those days when lots of liquid sunshine is coming down. Yesterday was one of those days. I had some apples already and so I thought why not!

Since I was going to be making just a small batch, I am not going to bother with the complete canning process, as these will be refrigerated right away, so they just needed to be sterilized at the outset. For me it’s a two step process I like to make an applesauce first and then slow cook it to condense it. I cook the whole apple, as the apple pomace is high in pectin which helps the butter to thicken and the skins have lots of flavor. Since I use a kitchenaid mixer with the fruit and vegetable strainer the second part of the process is fairly easy. If your going to be doing this by hand in a chinoise or food mill you might want to peel and core the apples first.

Ingredients for Apple Butter

Apples (about 4 pounds) for this recipe I used a combination of Granny Smiths and Braeburns
1 Tbs cinnamon
2 or 3 whole cloves
¼ Tsp allspice
Brown sugar or apple cider depending on taste after first cooking.

Apple Butter Cooking Procedure

In a large pot big enough to comfortably hold all the apples put about one inch of water on the bottom and add the cinnamon, clove and all spice, put in all the quartered apples cover and bring to a boil. Cook for about 10 – 20 minutes until apples are soft.

Process the apples through the strainer.

Straining cooked Apples — *Straining Cooked Apples*

Once you have strained all the apples, put the sauce in a slow cooker with the lid slightly ajar on low and cook for 8 – 24 hours depending on how hot your cooker gets. Take the pot with the spices and water from cooking the apples and strain into a pitcher and refrigerate, if you feel later you need more spice you can add a little of this juice to brighten the butter. At this point before cooking taste. If the sauce isn’t sweet enough add a little brown sugar and if you feel it’s too sweet add a little cider vinegar. If you want a really smooth butter use an immersion blender to smooth before cooking down.

Cook until sauce is reduced by about half and is fairly thick. Following proper canning procedures spoon into sterilized jars seal and let cool on counter before putting into the refrigerator or freezer.

Here’s a few items to help make this recipe easier.
KitchenAid KP26M1XNP Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixer, Nickel Pearl
KitchenAid FVSFGA Fruit/Vegetable Strainer and Food Grinder for Stand Mixers
Ball® Regular Mouth Pint Jars with Lids and Bands- Set of 12 (by Jarden Home Brands)
Cuisinart CSB-76BC SmartStick 200-Watt Immersion Hand Blender, Brushed Chrome

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apple Butter

2013-11-09 16:40:44

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Ingredients

Apples (about 4 pounds) for this recipe I used a combination of Granny Smiths and Braeburns
1 Tbs cinnamon
2 or 3 whole cloves
¼ Tsp allspice
Brown sugar or apple cider depending on taste after first cooking.

Instructions

Apple Butter Cooking Procedure
In a large pot big enough to comfortably hold all the apples put about one inch of water on the bottom and add the cinnamon, clove and all spice, put in all the quartered apples cover and bring to a boil. Cook for about 10 - 20 minutes until apples are soft.
Process the apples through the strainer.
Once you have strained all the apples, put the sauce in a slow cooker with the lid slightly ajar on low and cook for 8 - 24 hours depending on how hot your cooker gets. Take the pot with the spices and water from cooking the apples and strain into a pitcher and refrigerate, if you feel later you need more spice you can add a little of this juice to brighten the butter. At this point before cooking taste. If the sauce isn't sweet enough add a little brown sugar and if you feel it's too sweet add a little cider vinegar. If you want a really smooth butter use an immersion blender to smooth before cooking down.
Cook until sauce is reduced by about half and is fairly thick. Following proper canning procedures spoon into sterilized jars seal and let cool on counter before putting into the refrigerator or freezer.

Rants Raves and Recipes https://www.rantsravesandrecipes.com/

April 2, 2013November 9, 2014

Ham Quiche

Easter Ham is great, a nice spiral cut, honey glazed. What to do with the leftovers? Here’s one idea Ham quiche. I took a quarter section of my flaky dough recipe ( see Key Lime Pie for the recipe) for the pie crust, it makes absolutely the best quiche crust ever.

Ingredients for Ham Quiche

1 part Flaky Pie Crust
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 cup diced Ham
2-3 Scallions (White part) finely sliced
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
3 eggs
1¼ cups Cream
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions for making Ham Quiche

Preheat oven to 350°

Take the pie crust, roll out and place in 9 inch pie pan. Place aluminum foil over crust and weigh down with pie weights or beans and blind bake for about 20 minutes, remove from oven and remove weights and foil and place back in oven and bake an additional 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.

When cool place the cheddar in bottom of the pie crust, place the ham on top of that. In a separate bowl place the eggs, cream, ginger, scallions, salt and pepper and whisk completely. Pour on top of cheese and ham and bake in oven for about 40 -45 minutes until center is slightly firm and jiggles only slightly. Remove from oven and let cool slightly and set up.
Serve warm with sour cream.

Here’s a few ideas that might make this recipe easier.
Good Cook 9 Inch Ceramic Pie Plate, Red
OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Pie Server

March 25, 2013April 5, 2013

Asparagus Pudding

I was browsing through a very old cook book the other day and came across this interesting recipe for Asparagus Pudding. I updated it a little but over all it came out fairly well despite being over 150 years old.

You’ll need a small bowl or mold that holds about 3 cups, a round or square cake pan, and some vegetable oil spray.

Ingredients for Asparagus Pudding

2 strips of bacon well done and crumbled, or 2 tbs finely diced ham
4 eggs
2 tbs flour
1 bunch asparagus ( enough when cooked to measure about 1 cup cut up)
1/4+ cup cream or ½ & ½
salt & pepper
boiling water

Preheat oven to 400°

Cook the bacon until well done then crumble and set aside. Take the Asparagus and remove the ends by gently bending the stalk and letting it snap apart. You can do all that way or after a couple decide where the soft spot is and cut all the stalks at that point with a knife. Cook the asparagus until tender by either using a asparagus pot or cooking in a large frying pan filled with boiling water. Once soft place in ice water to stop the cooking, drain and pat dry; then cut into pea size pieces.

Spray the bowl with the cooking spray. In another bowl completely mix the eggs and flour, add in the bacon and asparagus, salt and pepper, add in the cream to form a pudding the consistency of a thick batter. Pour into greased bowl, cover with foil.

Place the cake pan on the top rack, in the center of the oven, put the bowl with the asparagus in the cake pan and add the boiling water to the cake pan so that it comes almost to the top of the pan, ( should be about 1/2 way up the bowl). Bake for about two hours. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly, run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert on to a plate. Cut in wedges and serves with melted butter spooned around but not over (as per the recipe).

Here are a few items to make this recipe easier
Steam Pudding/Cake Mold with Lid – 4.5 Cup Capacity
OvenStuff Non-Stick 9 Inch Round Cake Pan Two Piece Set
Mason Cash 5-1/2-Inch by 3-Inch Pudding Basin, 2-1/2 Cup Capacity, Size 42, White