[60-15]

My family and I decided that this year would be the year we tried our hands at apple butter. I've got some good memories of the process from when I was growing up, but we haven't made it in a very long time.

I found a great deal on a 30gallon copper kettle earlier this year. Had a blacksmith neighbor friend repair an old lard kettle stand to fit the copper kettle. My cousin made a wooden apple butter stirrer, cutom fit to the bottom of the kettle. (paddle made from maple, the handle from cherry)

Indgredients:
1 gallon apple cider
4 gallons applesauce (Summer Rambo apples, made in August)
3 gallons applesauce (Yellow Delicious apples, made in August)
3 bushels Staymen Winesap apples (washed, peeled, cored and "snitted")
3 bushels Rome apples (washed, peeled, cored and "snitted")
40 pounds sugar (or to taste)
4 ounces ground cinnamon (or to taste)
.5 oounces ground cloves (or to taste)
4 clean copper pennies (older than 82)

Start by making a fire to get a good bed of coals under the kettle stand. Add the kettle and a gallon of cider. Add the 4 pennies to bottom of the kettle. The pennies are added to keep the apple butter from sticking and burning (and ruining) the kettle. From this point forward the apple butter must be stirred constantly, no stopping, not even for a second.

Add the "snitz" and applesauce slowly over the next 3 or 4 hours, all the while, stirring. Did I mention constantly stirring. Keep the fire relatively low, cooking just hard enough to keep the "snitz" cooking down. Cook until most of the water has been cooked out of the apple butter, in this particular case it happened to take about 11 hours to get the apple butter cooked down enough to add the sugar.

The apple butter is ready for the sugar when you can take spoon of it, put it on a small plate and it will "stand" with out running down a tilted plate. Add sugar to taste. Cook the apple butter about an hour after the last of the sugar has been added.

After the apple butter has been cooked about an hour with the sugar in it, add the spices. We mixed the spices together in a pan and added them slowly. After all the spices are in, cook the apple butter another 15 minutes.

Remove all but a little fire to keep it warm, put it in jars, seal them and turn them upside down for 4 or 5 hours to cool. We ended up with 15 gallons of apple butter.

Some notes:
It's a hell of alot harder than I remember. Being a kid has its advantages. My wife and one of her friends are the best apple "snitters" this side of the Mississippi. Smoke. Lots and lots and lots of smoke, my eyes will be red and burning for a month. I've got a few great neighbors. I had all intentions of taking a bunch of pictures, but once we got started, there was no time for that. We invited friends and family and had a great time. I will do it again next year, and hopefully it will turn out just as good. Oh, and the apple butter turned out absolutely perfect, my grandmother would be proud.

[Normanvin]

The wife and I made apple butter years ago. I have been thinking we need to do it again.

But I must ask. Why the penny's?

[60-15]

But I must ask. Why the penny's?

The motion of the butter being stirred moves the pennies along the bottom of the kettle. The pennies scrape the bottom of the kettle which keeps the apple butter from burning and sticking to (and ruining) the kettle. Use older pennies because they are copper. Copper pennies won't damage the copper kettle.

(or so that's the legend)

[streaker69]

Make sure you pick the year of the penny you use carefully.

Years Material
1793–1857 100% copper
1857–1864 88% copper, 12% nickel (also known as NS-12)
1864–1942 bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc)
1943 zinc-coated steel (also known as 1943 steel cent)
1944–1946 brass (95% copper, 5% zinc)
1946–1962 bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc)
1962–1981 brass (95% copper, 5% zinc)
1982 varies, (95% copper, 5% zinc) or (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper)[6]
1983–present 97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper (core: 99.2% zinc, 0.8% copper; plating: pure copper)[7]

Probably want to avoid zinc poisoning.

[Emptymag]

15 GALLONS?!!!


Wow!

[mpan72]

I hate apple butter. I am glad I do after hearing how it is made.

Just kidding, sounds like a nice thing to do with family and friends. (I really do hate apple butter.)

[Daycrawler]

Whats "Snitted" mean & "Snitz" & "Snitters" mean???

[60-15]

Make sure you pick the year of the penny you use carefully.

Probably want to avoid zinc poisoning.

Thanks streaker for the list. I knew the newer ones were plated, but was told they would scratch the hell of the kettle, not that they would kill you. Back in the day, if you would have scratched my grandmother's kettle, you probably would have wished for zinc poisoning.

15 GALLONS?!!!

Wow!

Yeah, we actually were expecting around 20 gallons, but it cooked down more than we expected. I think using the applesauce contributed to that.

I hate apple butter.

That is not natural

Whats "Snitted" mean & "Snitz" & "Snitters" mean???

Ok, snitz is what my grandmother called the apple slices when I was a kid. I think the word snitz actually refers to dried apple slices. Our apples weren't dried so not actual snitz. Snitters, one who snitz. My wife and her friend worked so hard for hours and hours cutting apples that if I had not mentioned their hard work, she may have killed me.