Apple butter (Dutch: appelstroop) is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by long, slow cooking of apples with apple juice or water to a point where the sugar in the apples caramelizes, turning the apple butter a deep brown. The concentration of sugar gives apple butter a much longer shelf life as a preserve than apple sauce.
Background The roots of apple butter lie in Limburg (Belgium and the Netherlands) and Rhineland (Germany), conceived during the Middle Ages, when the first monasteries (with large orchards) appeared. The production of the butter was a perfect way to preserve part of the fruit production of the monasteries in that region, at a time when almost every village had its own apple-butter producers. The production of apple butter was also a popular way of using apples in colonial America, well into the 19th century.
The product contains no actual dairy butter; the term butter refers only to the butter-like thick, soft consistency, and apple butter's use as a spread for bread. Sometimes seasoned with cinnamon, clove, and other spices, apple butter is usually spread on bread, used as a side dish, an ingredient in baked goods, or as a condiment. Apple butter may also be used on sandwiches to add an interesting flavor, but is not as commonly used as in historical times.
Vinegar or lemon juice is sometimes mixed in while cooking to provide a small amount of tartness to the usually sweet apple butter. The Pennsylvania Dutch often include apple butter as part of their traditional 'seven sweets and seven sours' dinner table array.
In areas of the American South, the production of apple butter is a family event, due to the large amount of labor necessary to produce apple butter in large quantities. Traditionally, apple butter was prepared in large copper kettles outside. Large paddles were used to stir the apples, and family members would take turns stirring. In Appalachian cuisine, apple butter was the only type of fruit preserve normally rendered into fruit leather.
In Europe, an apple butter is traditionally made which is closer to dense syrup, in the Netherlands (known as appelstroop, meaning apple syrup) and in Germany (known as Apfelkraut) and frequently eaten on bread with (or without) thinly sliced cheese and with Sauerbraten. A sweeter version, made using pears, as well as apples, is more popular in Belgium, where it is known as sirop de Liège. Other than in Benelux and the Rhineland, apple syrup is a minority taste in Western Europe (in Germany, outside of the Rhineland, it is generally sold in health food shops), and a similar food is produced in francophone Switzerland, where it is known as vin cuit.
Russian Пови́дло (from Czech povidla, or Polish powidła or powidło) is prepared by the reduction of fruit puree with some sugar and sometimes spices. The final product should contain no more than 34% of moisture and about 60% of sugar. The most popular one is made from apples, but povidlo is also made from apricots, cherries, prunes, pears, and cranberries. Polish powidła is made from fresh purple plums with the addition of sugar.
In Jersey, in the Channel Islands, apple butter is known as black butter or lé nièr beurre and includes liquorice as an ingredient. In Northern Ireland it is now produced under the name "Irish Black Butter" in Co. Armagh. The possibly apocryphal story is that it was Scots-Irish immigrants who introduced the recipe to the Appalachians.
In Japan, apple butter often contains actual butter and is considerably lighter in color, typically a shade of yellow. It is used as a spread on toast or as a filling in baked buns, and may have a mashed texture with small apple chunks, similar to the red bean paste filling used in anpan. It is produced in apple-growing regions such as Nagano and Aomori Prefectures and often uses local apple varieties such as Fuji.
Apple butter can be used as a fat substitute in reduced-fat or fat-free cooking, as well as vegan recipes.
Production
Ingredients Apples (peeled, cored, and finely chopped) Brown (or white) sugar or unrefined sugar beet juice Apple juice (or apple cider) Spices (nutmeg, cloves, allspice, cardamom, vanilla extract and lemon juice – optional)
Apples
Different types of apples can be used for the production of apple butter. Apples are chosen based on their physical and chemical properties – such as hardness, sweetness, acidity/tartness, etc. Soft apples are often chosen for the production of apple butter because they can be broken down more easily and faster when cooked. These types of apples include: McIntosh (soft, creamy), Cortland (soft, sweet-and-tart, all-purpose), Granny Smith (tartness sweetens upon cooking, ideal complement to savory and salty foods).
Manufacture
Apples are first selected based on ripeness, texture, natural sweetness and tartness/acidity. Some of these apples are pressed into fresh apple cider, while the rest are peeled and cored, then wholly steamed and cooked into apple puree. The freshly pressed apple cider and cooked apple puree are added to a large steam vat. Small amounts of sodium bicarbonate are added to the mixture in order to reduce acidity and help bring out sweetness from the natural fructose available in the apples. The mixture will then be boiled during the evaporation process, allowing the volume to reduce to one seventh. The end product will be a concentrated mixture used as apple butter.
Packaging and storage
Apple butter is typically packaged in the same way whether it is prepared in a factory setting or made at home. It can be packaged mechanically in jars or cans through the use of machinery.
Apple butter is a product created as a means of preserving apples. Due to its high acidity, high sugar content and low amounts of free water, an opened package can be kept for months at room temperature without spoiling. Nevertheless, there are numerous methods that can be used for the storage of apple butter. No method is 100% dependable, as there is always a chance of the presence of bacteria or other microorganisms within the food itself, on the storage equipment or in the storage facility.
Typically, the jars are sterilized before packaging to ensure no harmful microorganisms or bacteria will infect the product, causing it to spoil. Ideally, jars are sterilized using a combination of high temperature heating and ensuring a tight seal.
Apples are a high acid food, with a pH below 4.6. Therefore, the apple butter can be placed in hot jars without chances of compromising quality of the product. The main sources of spoilage, molds, yeasts and enzymes, are killed at the temperatures reached in the hot water bath during the sterilization process for cans and jars. The spoilage microorganisms in acid foods can be destroyed in a small amount of time at temperatures below that of boiling water, so there is little risk of microorganisms appearing in the food product itself.
Freezing Freezing jars of apple butter can help to maintain quality and inhibit bacterial growth. This storage method does not destroy pre-existing microorganisms that may be present in the product, so it is important to be wary when consuming previously frozen product.
Boiling
Applying high temperatures over a specified period of time can not only aid in the sterilization of the jars or cans used in packaging, but it can help maximize the storage time of the apple butter or other products. Boiling the jars will remove the oxygen remaining in the jar, which forms a tight seal between the lid and the rim. The heat used for this method of canning can be sufficient to kill bacterial cells found in the food. Only high-acid food with a pH of 4.6 or less can be processed using the boiling water bath method. This is because high-acid foods prevent the growth of spores of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, which cannot be killed by boiling. Foods with a pH of more than 4.6 can allow the spores to grow.
Vacuum sealing Similar to the boiling process, vacuum sealing jars or cans of apple butter can remove remaining oxygen in the jar, forming a tight seal. The vacuuming process can be done in both a large-scale factory manner or at home with a mechanical vacuum sealer. Special devices, such as a vacuum pack sealer, can be fitted with specific jar attachments to fit over the lid of a jar and create a secure fit.
Pressurization Low-acid foods can be processed in a pressure canner to get rid of the risk of botulism; however, this treatment is not necessary for high-acid foods such as apple butter. Apple butter does not require sterilization at extremely high temperatures to reach optimum storage and maintain quality, so the pressure canning process is not typically used for this product.
Preservation and spoilage The preservation of apple butter involves application of several food science concepts, including controlling the temperature, water activity, and level of acidity in the product. Thermal processing not only helps produce texture and flavor characteristic to apple butter but is also a common way of sterilizing food products.Chan, J. (2016, February 21). Course:FNH200/Lesson 06. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from http://wiki.ubc.ca/Course:FNH200/Lesson_06Considine, D. M., Considine, G. D. (1995). Foods and food production encyclopedia. Boston, MA: Springer US. It is a critical step in minimizing the potential growth of spoilage-causing and illness-causing microorganisms in the product. As a result of thermal processing and the softening of the apples, the presence of air bubbles can be minimized during canning. Refrigeration is a way of preserving apple butter after thermal processing. Though it is not a method which eliminates microorganisms, it is a method to decrease the rate at which microorganisms grow.Chan, J. (2016, February 19). Course:FNH200/Lesson 07. Retrieved March 12, 2016, from http://wiki.ubc.ca/Course:FNH200/Lesson_07 Opened jars of apple butter may last a year if kept under low-temperature conditions.FOOD STORAGE — HOW LONG CAN YOU KEEP... (2016). Retrieved February 21, 2016, from http://www.stilltasty.com/fooditems/index/16367 With refrigeration, the quality of apple butter may still decrease over time.
Aside from controlling the temperature, regulation of the water activity in apple butter may also preserve the quality of apple butter.Chan, J. (2016, February 19). Course:FNH200/Lesson 02. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from http://wiki.ubc.ca/Course:FNH200/Lesson_02 Water present in foods may exist in two types: bound water and free water. Bound water refers to water molecules that are attached to other molecules, making them unable to participate in chemical reactions or be utilized by microorganisms to contribute to their growth. Free water refers to water molecules free to perform the above functions, and should be decreased to achieve a longer preservation period. The addition of sugar to apple butter allows more binding with the free water molecules and thereby decreases the amount of free water to support microbial growth.
Lowering the pH level of apple butter may also help decrease the rate of spoilage. Acidity in foods creates a less favorable environment for the survival of microorganisms, thus inhibiting the growth of bacteria and molds. Foods that have a pH of less than 4.6 are considered high-acid foods, and apples in general have a pH of 3.7.Food Preservation: Canning & Freezing. (2010, September). Retrieved February 24, 2016, from http://www.thedaringkitchen.com/recipe/food-preservation-canning-freezing Some recipes may include the addition of vinegar as a way to further bring down the pH and preserve the quality of the end product.United States Department of Agriculture and National Institute of Food and Agriculture. (n.d.). Selecting, Preparing and Canning Fruit and Fruit Products. Retrieved February 24, 2016, from http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/GUIDE02_HomeCan_rev0715.pdf