Apple Butter for the Canning Curious

"By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;
through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures."
-Proverbs 24:3-4

I used to think that canning was some mystical process that only trained professionals should attempt.  Get it wrong and your whole family dies of botulism or whatever.
​
​But I got curious...

See, my mother-in-law makes jam (among other things).  Her jam turned me into a jam snob: Store bought jam? No thank you!  

Now, making the jam itself was not my problem.  It was the canning that I was clueless about (seriously, that botulism is scary stuff, right?). I have foggy childhood recollections of my great-grandmother canning grape jelly and sealing it with wax sheets, but somehow this did not seem like a good place to start from.  So I asked said mother-in-law if she wouldn't mind my looking in on her fall peach canning.
​
She said yes, of course, so, I went to her house and peeled and cut and watched and waited.  Surely, I thought, the difficult and mystical part was going to appear.

Only that never happened.

I was shocked.  Shocked by the simplicity of it.

I have been doing it for years now, and I can still say that Canning is Actually Really Simple!  I have never had anything spoil, and no one has gotten sick.

If you want to give it a try, Apple Butter in the Crock Pot is a great way to get started into the world of canning. You can make a lot, or a little, depending on how many apples you feel like peeling. Said apples are pretty acidic, so there is little chance of anything unwanted growing in your jars (if you can keep the kids from eating it in one go to begin with)!

Gather It (for the Apple Butter):

• 2 to 3 pounds of apples (choose a variety)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• vanilla
• cinnamon
• nutmeg
• crock pot
• whisk

Gather It (for the Canning):

• Canning Starter Kit from Amazon (or raid your mother-in-law's pantry)

• Canning jars, lids, rings (I like the wide mouth ones, cause you can use them for glasses when they're empty).
• An extra pot for boiling extra water.
• Kitchen towels.

Butter It:

1. Peel and core apples.  You can put the good stuff right in the crock (no need to dice or anything like that).  I just cut until I get tired or the pot gets full, whichever comes first.
2. Prepare yourself for all the apple swiping: even children who normally have no time for apples seem to magically appear.  
3. Put on the lid, turn it on.  (High or low, depends on what kind of time you have on your hands.  Apples are not picky.)
4. Check every hour or so.  When they start to look soft, whisk the apples, right in the crock.
5. Add brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.  
6. Let cook overnight, or for several hours.  IF your crock is pretty air tight, make sure to crack the lid so the water can start to evaporate.
7. Whisk or blend to a buttery texture. (immersion or regular is fine)

​Step aside Betty Crocker! You have made apple butter! ​
​Now, for the canning...

Can it:

1. Sterilize the jars, lids and rings by running them through the dish washer.
2. Put the kettle (BIG pot) on the stove top.  Fill it about two-thirds full of water and get it started to boil.  If you have lots of jars of apple butter, you will need less water, because the jars take up space.  Put the lid on to make it boil faster.
3. Put an extra pot on another burner and boil water.  You will probably need it.
4. Use the handy jar funnel from your kit to pour your precious butter into clean jars.  A ladle is handy, too.  Do this while the butter is still hot!  Leave about 1/2 an inch of empty space at the top.
5. Put your flat lid on the jar.  Screw the ring on until it is finger tight.  Do NOT burn yourself!  (hahaha, once I forgot to put the rings on.  Just dunked some jars in the boiling water!  I said it was easy.  I didn't say it was fool-proof!)
6. Put the wire basket in the kettle.  Hang it from the sides.
7. Using the jar grabbers from your kit, put your lidded jars into the boiling water.  
8. Lower the basket and jars. (Pot holders!)
9. There should be a good inch of water above your jars.  If you need more, use that handy pot on the other burner to add some.
10. Put the lid on and boil for 10 minutes (according to Ball).  
11. Remove from kettle with your jar grabbers.  Sit them on a clean towel.  Cover them with another kitchen towel and let them be for 24 hours.  You will probably hear a cool popping sound as they cool: that's the lid sealing.
12. Remove the rings and wipe clean.  You do not need the rings for storage, unless you want them.
13. Write the date on the lid.  Or eat it all.  Whatever works for your family.

---

So What Do You Think?

Have you ever tried canning?  Did everyone drop dead? Was it harder or easier than you thought it would be?  

---

Copyright 2016 by Anna Travis.  All rights reserved.  Can at your own risk, and use common sense when opening home canned goods: if in doubt, throw it out!
This post may contain affiliate links.  If you click through and make a purchase, I will receive a small percentage of the the profits, at no added cost to you.  Thank you for supporting Sweet Messy Faith.