Not satisfied with my apple butter from two weeks ago, I tried again last Saturday.
I'm a little freaked out that this Saturday is the last day of our farmer's markets for the year, but it is the end of the harvest season and that's just the way it goes. So, I stopped by the folks on 110th and purchased 8 pounds of apples and 5 pounds of pears, plus a gallon of apple cider. The idea of Saturdays without my favorite shopping trip really put me is the preservation spirit, so I decided instead of just packing the butters in mason jars, I would actually process them for long-term storage. I found the necessary supplies - jar tongs, a 12-pack of Ball jars, and a wide-mouth funnel - at the kitchenwares store on 112th and Broadway. Hauling all this equiptment and fruit around made me kind of tired, so I spent about an hour deciding which recipes to use, how long I needed to process the products, and envisioning a Kitchen Review line of fruit butters that would win Specialty Food Product of the Year 2006.
I decided upon two recipes from the Epicurious website. The Pear Butter with Cardomom and Cinnamon seemed quite sophisticated, using white wine as the cooking liquid. Instead of Reisling, I used Vouvray and was happy to have the Saigon Cinnamon from Coastal Goods on hand, too. The recipe was simple to follow, though I increased cooking time to get an extra-thick texture. I can turn the jars of it completely upside-down without the butter moving. I consider this butter success. Unfortunately, it only yielded 2 and 3/4 pints, so I'll have to make more for Christmas-time gift giving. That is, if I can get the pears this weekend.
The apple butter recipe seemed to address my previous problem - loose consistency - by using less liquid and longer cooking time. I was also careful not to boil the product to ensure that the natural pectin would be intact. In addition to the cinnamon, I added three pods of star anise. I really liked the flavor. It's like 'cinnamon plus something I can't quite put my finger on.' I cooked this butter for almost four hours and still got an applesaucy texture. I didn't want the chunkiness, so I pureed it and perhaps that was my downfall. It is improved from my last batch, but I'm not quite sure if it qualifies as a butter. If anyone has had success with apple butter, could you please write me and let me in on your secret. I figured 2 cups of cider to 8 pounds of apples would do the trick. Now I have 6 pints of the stuff. Delicious, just not quite butter. I think I'll package it as a "Sophisticated Apple Sauce" to be served with poultry or pork.
The processesing was easy as could be. I wonder why I've been afraid of it. I sanitized the glass jars in boiling water. I didn't have a canning pot, just my stock pot with a dish towel on the bottom to prevent everything from knocking around. I also had a tea kettle with boiling water to add to the pot as the water boiled off. I filled the jars using my nifty wide-mouth funnel and screwed on the lids securely, but not too tightly. I boiled the jars in the water, being sure that the water cleared the jars by at least an inch, for 10 minutes. The jar tongs made it easy for me to fish out the jars, then they cooled on a towel on my countertop. A delightful popping sound from the lids let me know that I had achieve a vacuum seal.
Even thought my efforts weren't perfect, I was proud...and a little sad that I hadn't saved more of my farmer's market finds by 'putting them up.' I won't make the same mistake next spring.
