Apples: so sweet, so good at keeping the doc far, far away


Apples. We’ve always heard they’re good for us. You know, an apple a day and all that.

But there’s considerable science behind that claim. Apples are fat- free, cholesterol- and sodium-free, and, according to the Mott’s apple Web site, apples provide important vitamins, minerals, fiber and phytonutrients.

The vitamin C in apples is an antioxidant that supports a healthy immune system, and the potassium in apples is important in regulating blood pressure.

But don’t forget. Apples are really delicious. As in apple butter.

This is a concentrated applesauce, spiced to taste with cinnamon, nutmeg, a bit of clove; cardamom, a touch of sea salt or whatever other spice you like best with apples.

To get a concentrated sauce, I fill a huge turkey roaster with cut-up apples. I always add some yellow delicious to the mix for sweetness, and I use primarily Macouns because that’s what I


grow on my trees, and they don’t store for winter. So I cook them.

 

Instead of adding water to the bottom of the pan for the roasting, I add a quart of apple juice, which I make at home. But if you don’t have the equipment, buy the juice.

Roast the apples at 350 degrees for about 2 ½ to 3 hours, or until they smell sweet, look soft and mushy, and can be stirred down into a thick sauce.

Then press the apples through a food

mill into a large bowl or pan to remove the peels, cores and seeds. Pour the purée back into your roasting pan and place it over two burners, lowest heat, for continued simmering. Use flame tamers on the stove to prevent scorching the apples, and add spice to taste. Added sweetener is really unnecessary.

 

After a time, the sauce, stirred often, simmers to a butter and tends to fall off a spoon in a glop or sheet rather than in loose drips. That’s the time to can and process your apple butter.

For apple butter, it takes a 15-minute boiling-water bath to seal the jars. Follow directions for hot-water processing on the box of canning jars. Your apple butter will store indefinitely in a cool dark place, but I bet it won’t last long enough for you to worry about how long it stores. One heaped-high, large turkey roaster made me 42 half-pint jars of apple butter.

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