Pennsylvania Dutch Low-Sugar Apple Butter Recipe and info from thespruceeats.com
Making apple butter has been a method for preserving fruit since ancient Greece. Cooking or rendering fruit until the sugar content is above 50% preserves it, often without canning or refrigeration. The Germans and Dutch make and eat a similar product from the juice of pressed fruit, called Apfelkraut or Apfelsirup. In the Rhineland, where traditional apple orchards grow, it is considered a specialty. They use it to sweeten their Sauerbraten gravy and on potato pancakes. Both apple butter and Apfelsirup turn dark brown because the sugar in the apples caramelizes with long, slow simmering. This Pennsylvania Dutch low-sugar Apple Butter recipe is made every fall by the folks who live in this area.
Ingredients 6 apples (peeled, cored and quartered, about 3 pounds) 3/4 cup apple cider or juice (unsweetened) 2 to 4 tablespoons sweetener (agave syrup, honey, sugar) 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Method 1. Gather the ingredients. 2. Chop the 6 peeled, cored and quartered apples into small chunks and place them in a saucepan. Add 3/4 cup unsweetened apple cider or apple juice (can be reconstituted from frozen), 2 to 4 tablespoons the sweetener of choice (agave syrup, honey or sugar), 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves. 3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring often, for 1 hour. The apples should be very mushy. 4. Remove cover and simmer for another 1 to 2 hours, stirring frequently so the fruit doesn't burn. The mixture will get thick and turn dark brown, from the caramelized sugar. 5. When you stop cooking is up to personal preference. Again, the picture shows apple butter which was cooked until it was shiny, dry and thick like jam. You can always quit while it is still soft and a bit runny.
What You Can Do with Apple Butter ● The beauty of apple butter is that you can turn it into a sweetener for other recipes. ● Replace half the fat in quick breads with an equal amount of apple butter. ● Use it instead of maple syrup on pancakes, with your morning oatmeal and over cottage cheese ● Spread it on your daily bread. It is lower in calories than dairy butter and has no fat. ● Try apple butter on roesti, potato pancakes or pork chops.