"The apple is the noblest of fruits." - Henry David Thoreau

What is apple butter?

Apple butter is a sweet and smooth spread made from apples and sugar. Despite its name, it contains no actual butter. Instead, the "butter" in the name refers to its smooth, spreadable consistency. It is similar to apple sauce but is cooked for a much longer period, which allows it to develop a richer, more concentrated flavour.

The addition of caramel here produces a really tasty posh version of a toffee apple. So this makes a great recipe for Halloween when you want something more grown up for your dessert.

This recipe also works really well with pears and is a great way to use up pears that haven’t quite ripened yet.

What’s the difference between apple butter and jam?

Jam requires pectin to set and then will give a jelly-like texture compared to apple butter which is (unsurprisingly) more like a spread. Fruit is also cooked for a shorter time with jam, whereas with apple butter a longer roasting period is required.

How long will apple butter keep for?

If the butter is sealed in an airtight container then it can last for as much as 18 months, using a bottling technique with sterilised jars is usually the best method. If you haven’t got an airtight container then it will last in the refrigerator for about a month.

To be honest though, it really won’t last that long - it’s way too delicious!

Which apple variety is best?

We are going to be a little bit controversial here and say it doesn’t really matter as the amount of sugar used will counter any tartness in the apples. However the very best results come from sweeter apples like gala or golden delicious. We usually just use apples we have in the house for eating, and this has worked very well time and again.

Song for this recipe:

The Chain - Fleetwood Mac

Audiobook for this recipe:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shafer and Annie Barrows

Ingredients:

• 1.2 kg x apples (or similar fruit)

• 45g x unsalted butter

• 150g x dark brown sugar

• 175ml x double cream

• pinch of salt

How to make apple caramel butter

• Preheat the oven to 180c and peel and core the apples. Cut them into quarters

• Pile the apples into a large roasting dish and dot the butter across the top

• Bake for around an 1 1/2 hours - stirring occasionally. You want the apples to reduce down and become quite mushy.

• For the caramel, put the sugar in a saucepan with 3 tbsp of water and turn to a low/medium heat.

• Heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved into the water

• Increase the heat to medium high and simmer for around 2 minutes until bubbling and like syrup

• Once at this stage pour in the cream and stir, continue to simmer for another minute and then remove from the heat

• Stir in the butter and add a pinch of salt

• Take the apples out of the oven, and with the caramel add to a blender.

• Pulse blend until smooth

• Serve over ice cream!

Credit for video music

Video Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/ben-johnson/some-kind-of-feelin

License code: QH9UF8NOUNUSJTIZ