Yesterday we got the opportunity to participate in a wonderful Tenney family tradition. Every late October Patrick's grandparents, their siblings and families come to Ralph and June's (Patrick's grandparents) house to make apple butter.
Making apple butter is a LONG process I learned. First, you start off with 10 gallons of applesauce and a copper pot. Well, I guess first you need to make the applesauce, which involves peeling and coring apples then running them through a grinder. But we didn't have to do that part because June had done it already.
Next (or simultaneously) you build the fire.
Then you bring the applesauce to a boil (it took about 90 minutes to bring it to a full boil) while stirring the pot constantly with a weird-looking utensil that can be likened to a fork.
After you bring the applesauce to a boil, you add 6 pounds of sugar (or more to taste). You continue stirring for another 45-60 minutes. 
To make the apple butter red, you add cinnamon dots (red hard candy), and continue to stir for another 30-45 minutes, until it "looks right" and is thick enough. At this point you keep cooking the applebutter at a boiling rate until it has cooked down to the thickness you like.
Next you take the pot off the fire and add 6 vials of straight cinnamon oil and stir the heck out of it.
Finally, you set up an assembly line and fill jars, cap, and seal as fast as you can so the heat of the apple butter will help seal your jars. Only then can you lick the wooden stir stick!
We ended up making 84 pints of apple butter in about 4 and a half hours. Everyone took a turn stirring (some more than others), and we all helped out with canning it. I was mainly on kid patrol because stirring the apple butter REALLY hurt my back. But I am really glad that I was able to participate in this fun family tradition and look forward to doing it next year.
If you are in the market for a free pint of apple butter, let me know. My grandmother-in-law has a TON from as far back as 2004, and she says the longer it sits the better it is!
5 comments:
That's so cool! I have never seen a fork thing like that! Next time we stop by your house, can I have a taste?
Bring some home with you at Christmas. Your dad and I really like apple butter
Wow! That is quite the process! :) We are making some tomorrow but I don't think it will be as fun and as memorable as yours!
Mom use to make her own apple butter (and peach butter), but she never made it like that. She made hers on the stovetop in the kitchen. I also don't remember her using red cinnamon dots. Sounds like a very memorable experience.
Catherine, of course you can have a taste! I really don't know what it tastes like because I don't care for cinnamon, thus don't care for apple butter. But everyone around here raves about it.
Alaina--hope you are successful in your apple butter making!
Jim--My mom says she has only seen it made on the stove before too. Guess we "went pioneer" on the process :)
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