Friday, October 30, 2009

A IS FOR APPLE

Well...it all started with a sale....47 cents a pound to be exact. I bagged up over 30 pounds amidst the stares of the regular shoppers, danced through the check out, and skipped all the way to my van.


I knew I could make apple sauce with some of them...but what about the other 25 pounds? Time for a few experiments...

First up, apple butter. Oh and here's the kicker....I've never eaten apple butter. Didn't even know what it should look like, but it sure sounded good, and I could bust out the water bath canner and practice with it as well. I found a great and very easy recipe from One Acre Homestead.

Crockpot Apple Butter
Put 3 quarts of apples, sliced thin in a crock pot and cook overnight on high. Next morning add 2 tsp cinnamon, 3 cups of sugar and 1/2 tsp cloves. Cook all day on low. Tastes like old fashioned apple butter cooked in a copper kettle.

Sounds great, eh? Off to the kitchen I go....first problem...how many apples in a quart? Back to the computer. Apparently there are 4 large or 8 medium apples to a quart. Problem solved.

I cut up 25 Gala apples, which filled my crock pot to the gills, turned her up on high at 2:30 pm and six hours later....added the sugar and cinnamon (no cloves for me thanks) and set it on low for the night.



By 7:30 am, it was looking dark, thick and rich and smelled like heaven. I firmly believe that heaven smells like cinnamon...know what I'm saying? Mmmmmm
Re-read my canning instructions for apple products and dove right in.
I turned out 8 - 1 cup jars of this super delicious treat!
I will definitely do up another couple batches of this...it disappears fast!
Next up....dehydrated apple rings.
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15 comments:

  1. PennyWolfeOctober 30, 2009 at 3:57 PM

    I wonder how it ships?

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  2. UnknownOctober 30, 2009 at 4:33 PM

    Yummy!!! I made my first batch of apple butter this fall too! It's pretty easy I thought. And what a great deal on your apples. In this part of the country they don't get that low.

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  3. UnknownOctober 30, 2009 at 6:34 PM

    mmmmm apple butter....you make it sound so easy...I may have to try it....who am I kidding...when you ship to Penny, dont forgot about me...lol

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  4. TEAM HALLOctober 30, 2009 at 7:45 PM

    Penny: hahahaha, you're a riot! I almost spit iced tea on the screen.

    Hey there SciFiChick! Did you make the crockpot recipe? Couldn't get any easier than that! I'm feeling brave now...maybe I can move onto apple pie filling. hehe Thanks for stopping in!


    Oh Janice...you make me laugh! hehe

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  5. SueOctober 31, 2009 at 6:08 AM

    Honey, I sure wish you lived near me....we have HUNDREDS of apple trees in the area....and some of our wonderful neighbors keep sharing (and sharing and sharing!!!!!)
    I love em all dearly, but if they don't stop bringing me apples, I'm going to greet them at the end of the driveway with a shotgun!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. TEAM HALLOctober 31, 2009 at 7:07 AM

    Hiya Sue! LOL Last night it was iced tea on the screen...this morning it's coffee! I have the funniest commenters. Thanks for dropping in!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousOctober 31, 2009 at 1:52 PM

    You better ship me some to. Remember I have guns, and my home travels. You may wake up one morning with me at your door waiting for breakfast. lol

    See Ya

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  8. Frugal Canadian HermitOctober 31, 2009 at 11:27 PM

    I definately would'nt reject a shipment of that either. Seriously, I think you have way too much to handle.

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  9. HermitJimNovember 1, 2009 at 12:09 AM

    Really looks good, alright! I don't like to beg, BUT...!

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  10. TEAM HALLNovember 1, 2009 at 4:40 PM

    Ohhhh Tony! You're welcome any time...leave the guns at home, I'll feed yah, I'll feed yah! hehehe

    Hey Mark! Looks like UPS is going to get busy! hehehe

    Hiya Jim! I'd be afraid to send it...I'm betting you are quite the chef!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. PennyWolfeNovember 2, 2009 at 2:22 PM

    Wait...does this mean I'm not getting any? Okay, next time I get a shipment from Chapters I'm saving the bubble wrap they use (like zipbags filled with air) and box and sending it to you to FILL and return!!!

    ...you think I'm kidding, don't you? :)

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  12. UnknownNovember 3, 2009 at 10:12 AM

    Your kids and rings are adorable! I've never seen anything like them before!

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  13. TEAM HALLNovember 3, 2009 at 6:04 PM

    Emily: Thanks for stopping by and for the lovely compliment re: my little people!

    ReplyDelete
  14. BrittanyDecember 18, 2009 at 4:00 AM

    Hi there....question here. As to your Crock pot Apple butter, when you put it into the cans, do you freeze them, or do you do the actually canning process? How do you store them? I still have a lot of apples left over from our family orchard and I need some ideas on what to do with them. Thanks!
    ~Brittany Vawser

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  15. TEAM HALLDecember 18, 2009 at 7:45 AM

    Hi there Brittany!! I did the water bath canning method with them. It doesn't take long at all and it's easy. I also made up a few large batches of apple sauce and put them thru the water bath canner. Oh and I dehydrated pounds and pounds of apples into rings. They were devoured in record time. I'm sure Andy would love a few apple pies thrown into the freezer - that would use up a few of those apples! hehe
    One thing I wanted to do but didn't get around to it was to make apple pie filling and water bath can it.
    As for storing...I am fortunate enough to live in an old old old house with a scary cellar which my husband turned into a cold room/pantry.
    Thanks for dropping by!!! Hope I could help!
    Cath

    ReplyDelete

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