22 Facts About Apple butter

1.

Apple butter is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by long, slow cooking of apples with cider or water to a point where the sugar in the apples caramelizes, turning the apple butter a deep brown.

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2.

The production of the butter was a perfect way to conserve part of the fruit production of the monasteries in that region, at a time when almost every village had its own apple-butter producers.

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3.

The production of apple butter was a popular way of using apples in colonial America, well into the 19th century.

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4.

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 breads.

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5.

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.

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6.

In Europe, an apple butter is traditionally made which is closer to dense syrup, in the Netherlands and in Germany and frequently eaten on bread with thinly sliced cheese and with Sauerbraten.

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7.

In Jersey, in the Channel Islands, apple butter is known as black butter or le nier beurre and includes liquorice as an ingredient.

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8.

In Japan, apple butter often contains actual butter and is considerably lighter in color, typically a shade of yellow.

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9.

Apple butter can be used as a fat substitute in reduced-fat or fat-free cooking, as well as vegan recipes.

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10.

Apple butter is typically packaged in the same way whether it is prepared in a factory setting or made at home.

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11.

Apple butter is a product created as a means of preserving apples.

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12.

Therefore, the apple butter can be placed in hot jars without chances of compromising quality of the product.

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13.

Similar to the boiling process, vacuum sealing jars or cans of apple butter can remove remaining oxygen in the jar, forming a tight seal.

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14.

Preservation of apple butter involves application of several food science concepts, including controlling the temperature, water activity, and level of acidity in the product.

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15.

Thermal processing not only helps produce texture and flavor characteristic to apple butter but is a common way of sterilizing food products.

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16.

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.

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17.

Sometimes, commercial brands of apple butter can be found with other ingredients and food additives.

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18.

However, apple butter should be discarded if there are clear signs of spoilage, such as when mold is found on the product surface.

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19.

Apple butter is more of an accessory food to put on your toast or other foods simply added for its taste.

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20.

Apple butter is stored in glass jars, which allow light to enter the container therefore their shelf-life is less than that of food canned in steel cans.

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21.

In various locations across the United States, the production of apple butter is associated with a community event, most often occurring in the fall at the end of the apple-harvest season.

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22.

At many of these events, apple butter is cooked on-site in the traditional method, using huge copper kettles over open fires that are stirred for hours.

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