APPLE BUTTER SEASON

By LISA LOSASSO BELL

Festivals celebrate Ohio traditions

Every fall, friends and families get together to preserve the bounty of the yearly apple harvest.

Although it is not as common as it once was, the myriad of Ohio apple butter festivals brings people together to experience a process that would surely be a thing of the past.

It seems that even though the ultimate outcome is several large kettles of sweet-smelling and delicious apple butter, the greatest reward is the hard work, camaraderie and unified purpose that brings people together.

Just like any other culinary treat, there is no set of hard and fast rules as to how to or how not to make apple butter. Each group, family and region has its own variation of the sweet condiment.

Some cooks favor powdered spices, while others will use only essential oils of clove and cinnamon. Although it is traditional to use 3 pounds of sugar per gallon of apple butter, it was common to use West Indian molasses during Colonial times. Today, many cooks don’t use sugar at all.

The most important fact is that no one can make apple butter alone.

Essential tools for making apple butter over an open fire include several copper-lined kettles and long-handled stirrers with spoon-bill heads.

Once the stirring starts, it can’t stop until the apple butter is ready to put into jars.

On the first day of the process, the apples are peeled and quartered. On the second day, the kettles full of prepared apples are set up on an open fire. The liquid, whether water or apple cider, is then added, and the stirring begins. With patience and a lot of hard work, the apples eventually break down into a thick, bubbly sauce.

After several hours, the sugar is added and then the spices, which turn the apple butter a deep red color.

Once the apple butter stands firm, it is ladled into sterilized jars, the lids are screwed on, the jars are packed and the kettles are cleaned.

Jars of homemade apple butter are then taken home to be used as a topping for thick slices of toasted bread, as a flavorful addition to a truly unique sandwich, or given as gifts during the holidays.

According to Cheryl McNulty of the Century Village Museum in Burton, there will be seven kettles for this weekend’s 60th Annual Apple Butter Festival.

“It takes approximately 20 to 25 people to make every seven kettles of apple butter,” said McNulty.

She explained that it takes approximately 4 unpeeled (3 peeled and sliced) bushels of apples to make one kettle of apple butter. Each kettle starts with 3 gallons of cider, 1 gallon of gelatin and 1 bushel of apples. Apples are added slowly and cooked down until they are ready for canning. Sweetened apple butter takes about 10 pounds of sugar per kettle.

If you’re not quite up to gathering your own group to make a kettle or two of apple butter over an open fire, there are plenty of apple butter festivals to attend throughout Ohio during the month of October. Maybe you could even try your hand at stirring the pot.

Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

8 cups stale French or Italian bread, cut in pieces

31‚Ñ2 cups milk

6 tablespoons butter or margarine

4 eggs

3‚Ñ4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 cups apples, cored and diced

1 small jar caramel ice cream topping

1‚Ñ2 cup chopped cashews

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan heat milk. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with non-stick vegetable spray. Place bread peices into the baking dish and pour over heated milk. Mix until bread absorbs milk; set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and cinnamon and beat until fluffy. Stir in apples and add to bread mixture. Bake for 1 hour until golden brown. Pour caramel sauce over baked bread pudding and sprinkle with chopped cashews. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped topping. Serves 10-12.

Roger Ferguson, Findlay, Ohio

Chocolate Walnut Apple Cake

2 cups flour

1‚Ñ2 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3‚Ñ4 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

11‚Ñ2 cups sugar

3 cups chopped Rome Beauty or Yellow Delicious apples, divided

1 cup chopped walnuts

Sift flour, cocoa, soda, salt and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl beat together oil, eggs and sugar. Add 1 cup apples. Add dry ingredients and beat 3 minutes at medium speed. Stir in remaining apples and nuts. Pour into greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until done. When cool, cover the cake with a paper doily and sprinkle with powdered sugar to make a lacy design. Makes 12 servings.

Esther McCoy, Dillonvale, Ohio

Apple Delight Cake

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

3 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups peeled and chopped apples

2 cups flaked coconut

1 cup chopped dates

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt or tube pan. Beat together sugar and oil. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well. Sift flour, salt, soda and cinnamon together. Add gradually to egg mixture. Blend well.

Stir in apples, coconut, dates and pecans. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 60-70 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool completely. Remove from pan. Pour caramel glaze over top and sides, if desired. Makes 12 servings.

Caramel Glaze

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1‚Ñ2 cup butter or margarine

1‚Ñ2 cup milk

Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Boil 20 minutes stirring constantly. Pour over cooled cake.

Francine Crist, Canton, Ohio

Apple Conserve

11‚Ñ2 pounds apples, peeled

Pinch of ground cloves

1 cup raisins

1 cup water

1‚Ñ2 lemon, sliced

1 cup nuts, chopped

1 cup sugar

1‚Ñ2 teaspoon salt

1‚Ñ2 teaspoon cinnamon

Vanilla ice cream

1‚Ñ4 teaspoon nutmeg

Combine apples, raisins, lemon slices, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, cloves and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours; stirring occasionally. Remove from heat when thick and stir in nuts. Serve warm over ice cream. Note: May also be served cold.

Fresh Apple Bars

3 eggs

13‚Ñ4 cups white sugar

1 cup oil

1 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups apples, diced and heaping

2 cups flour

1 cup nuts, chopped

2 teaspoons salt

Beat well together eggs, sugar and oil. Sift together remaining dry ingredients. Add to egg mixture, stirring well. Fold in diced apples and chopped nuts. Pour into greased and floured 9x13 pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes in 350 degree oven. Remove from oven and cover at once with sifted powdered sugar. Cut into bars. Yields 24 bars.

XApple recipes from ohioapples.org and Ohio Proud.