A New Twist on Apple Butter

 

(Cut the First Grader some slack with the apostrophe.  Maybe he wasn’t done with the sentence.)

 

My strawberry-black raspberry jam is long gone, so I staked out some time yesterday to make apple butter.  I thought it would be fun to try it the old- fashioned way my great-grandmother described, with the big copper kettle over an open fire and young crushes trying not to bang the stirrer against the pot under penalty of a kiss.  But the local teenagers I polled didn’t seem to share in my enthusiasm for the project, possibly seeing through my ploy for free manual labor, even though I did mention the kissing part.  Not me, I clarified.  Each other.  Okay, old lady, they said in between sexting.  As soon as we finish smoking our corncob pipes. 

No one has any respect for the elderly anymore.

So I kicked everyone out of the kitchen and researched a more modern method.  A family recipe up on Simply Recipes had me intrigued with its use of apple cider vinegar instead of apple cider.  Vinegar?  I’d never heard of that.  Nevertheless, as I had some vinegar but no cider, I forged ahead, skeptical but always willing to overlook these things when measured against the prospect of a trip to Russo’s during peak shopping hours.

That wasn’t the only twist, though.

 

 

 

I added some husk cherries to the apples in the pot.  Why not?  My mom’s delicious tomato jam uses the same spices as apple butter.  Husk cherries are tomato-like.  If anything, I figured they would add complexity and depth to the apple flavor, and maybe some extra pectin to boot.

 

 

You’re expecting this to end badly, aren’t you?  But the end result was, in a word, delightful.  Warmly spiced but slightly tart with a luscious, velvety texture, it’s worthy of several kisses, at least.  So take that, horny teenagers!

 

Husk Cherry-Apple Butter

You can make this without the husk cherries (also known as ground cherries); just reduce the amount of sugar to 1 cup.  Recipe can be doubled.

4 apples

Pint of husk cherries, papery husks removed (about 1/2 cup of fruit)

½ cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

1½ cups sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. allspice

Pinch of cloves

 

Pinch of salt

 

 

Cut apples in half, then into thick wedges (keep peels on and cores intact as they add flavor and pectin).  Add apples, husk cherries, cider vinegar, and water to the pot.  Bring to boil and simmer, covered, until soft (about 20 minutes).  Mash up the mixture and process it through a food mill set over a bowl (or you can press it through a sieve with a wooden spoon).  Add sugar, spices, and salt to the apple butter, and cook over medium-low heat, uncovered, for about an hour until thick and darkened.  Makes enough to fill 3 small jelly jars.

Recipe Source: Adapted from Simply Recipes.

Local Ingredient Sources:

Apples: Autumn Hills Orchard, Groton, MA

Husk cherries: Waltham Fields, Waltham, MA

Apple cider vinegar: Carlson Orchards, Harvard, MA

Comments

[maybelles mom]

husk cherries or ground cherries as they call them at my market are an obsession of mine. looks good.

[Amy]

Love apple butter. Spread on fresh warm bread. Oh yes.

And I bet your 1st grader has better grammar and can spell better than most of the adults I know.

[cal orey]

i think you do fine with cakes. prefer the rhubarb one, though

[adele]

Sounds lovely. I don't have a food mill, though - can I get away with using a stick blender?

[aimee]

Are husk cherries the same as tomatillos? They look like it.

[Tammy]

Aimee: Husk cherries aren't the same as tomatillos, though they are related and both have paper lantern-like husks. These are much smaller with fruits the size of a cranberry. When they're ripe, they fall to the ground, which makes them easy to pick. Just lift up the low-growing vines and there they are.

Adele: That might work. Just be sure to get rid of the skins and cores first!

cal orey: Well, I can't argue with the deliciousness of rhubarb cake.

Amy: Now I just have to make some of that warm bread of which you speak.

maybelle's mom: It took me a while to warm up to them raw, but I love them sweetened and cooked. I bet they'd be good in pies, too.

[Allison]

It's easy to look past the apostrophe when your first grader has such lovely handwriting. And spelling!

[Alana]

Husk cherries! Brilliant. Although I can't seem to make it home with them- all eaten up.

[Tamar]

I have the inside track, and I happen know that the Apple Board approached First Grader to solicit a "complete the sentence" contest poster.

My submission: ... way of seducing you in September, only to disappoint you in April.

[Word Nerd]

First grader gets a free pass on the apostrophe...this time. But I can't make any promises for next time.

Nice to "see" you, and the apple butter sounds delicious! Take good care.

[Yumi]

Ah, sexting...I remember that was more common in my middle school than my high school. As it is, when I first heard of it my reaction went something along the lines of "WHAT?? That is so inappropriate! Are they that stupid?"

...sometimes I feel old.