(Virtually) No Stir Apple Butter

Photo credit: http://old-photos.blogspot.com/2009/10/apple-butter.html

As I mentioned in the previous apple butter post, I was looking to try a “no-stir” oven version of apple butter.  I’ve heard good things about Crock Pot (sorry, “slow cooker” would be the PC terminology of the day, but I prefer the old-fashioned Crock Pot) apple butter, but as I do not own one, I had to try it out in the oven.

There are a few recipes out there on the Interwebs for apple butter reduced in the oven; oven temps range from 200 – 300 degrees and stirring ranges from every 15 minutes, to once an hour, to not at all.  The time to an end product varies widely as well, from  1 to 1 and 1/2 hours, to 2 to 3 hours, to all day.  I like a pretty thick apple butter, more butter than sauce in texture, so my batch took 5 hours at 300 degrees, and did require stirring at least every half hour.

So which technique is better? Well, like so much else in life, it depends. The endless stirring of the stovetop method is effort-intensive, but I also don’t always have 5 hours to hang around the house “not stirring” apple butter in the oven. Also the butter did tend to develop a skin in the oven, requiring stirring at increasingly short intervals as the butter cooked, and the edges caramelized and stuck to the pan, decreasing yield.  I think a combination of methods could work well;  the initial reduce in the oven, when you do not have to stir as often because the water is being baked off and the edges do not yet begin to stick, then a transition to the stovetop to finish it off.  However, like many recipes, I will probably keep both methods in my arsenal; some days (like today) it is cold, damp and raw and you welcome the oven on all day, and the lazy, movie-watching process of stirring every now and then; some days, you need to just get on with it and move on to the next project, or you had a stressful day at work and nothing beats stress like beating the crap out of a stockpot full of apple butter.  Either way, the end product is delicious, so you decide which method suits your kitchen best.

Adapted from Apple Butter in Putting Food By, 4th Ed., J. Greene, R. Hertzberg, B., Vaughan

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(Virtually) No Stir Apple Butter 

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

•  food mill, chinois, or blender
• canning supplies

INGREDIENTS

• 5 lbs apples (I used organically grown Stayman Winesap from Fishkills Farms), scrubbed well
• 1 cup unsweetened apple juice (or water)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup local honey
• pinch of salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

METHODS

1. Add the apple and lemon juices to a large stockpot. Quarter the apples, but do not peel or core them; the peels and cores contain a lot of the natural pectin and will help to firm up the consistency of the butter.  Add the apples to the stockpot as you chop, tossing occasionally to prevent browning.
2. Bring the pot, covered, to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the apples are soft, mushy and just beginning to disintegrate, about 45 -60 minutes.  Remove from heat, allow to cool slightly, then, working in batches, push the cooked apples, with juice, through a food mill (medium grate) or chinois. If you don’t have a food mill or chinois, Putting By suggests blending the pulp on the highest speed in a blender, with the skins, then straining the pulp to remove the minced skin.  You would need to core the apples first if using this method.  Or, of course, you can peel, core and dice the apples prior to cooking, hence eliminating the need for any blending or sieving.
3. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
4. Add the honey, spices,  and salt  to the apple pulp.  Mix well, or if you want a really smooth butter, now is a good time to give it a blend with an immersion blender.  Transfer the seasoned apple pulp to a 9″ X 13″ baking pan or small roasting pan. Cook, at 300 degrees F, for 4-6 hours, stirring once every 30 minutes or so to prevent a skin of carmelized apple from forming on the top. You may need to decrease the time between stirring to 15 minutes as the apple butter continues to reduce. You can test the texture for doneness by putting a small dollop on a chilled plate, (the butter should hold it’s shape on the plate and no liquid should seep off of the dollop), or simply pull it out when it looks and tastes good to you.
5. If canning, prepare canner, jars and lids.
6. Pack hot apple butter into hot, sterilized jars to 1/4-inch headspace.  It’s especially important with this viscous butter that you stir to eliminate any air pockets trapped in the middle of the jar or along the sides. Wipe rim well, affix lid and band, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Yields about 3 and 1/2 cups. 

OPTIONS

1. This butter is not overly sweet. Because the apple peels and cores are cooked in with the pulp, the apple flavor comes through quite beautifully, so be sure to choose apples that are flavorful and that you like.  If you prefer a sweeter butter, increase the honey by up to 1 cup, or substitute up to 4 cups of sugar (which will increase yield and somewhat decrease cooking/stirring time).
2. The same basic recipe would work well with pears.
3. You can make this apple butter 100% local by eliminating the spices and lemon.  You should add some local apple cider vinegar for a little acid; it helps to firm up the set of the butter.  For local spice, you could try ground, dried spicebush berries or wild ginger.  Or simply apples and honey for a taste that is pure New England.

STORE

Canned, in a cool dark spot for up to 1 year.  Refrigerated, up to 3 months.

SEASON

Fall through winter. 

Salt & Cocoa Pumpkin Seeds

Ah! Sweet mystery of life at last I’ve found you!  I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before; I love pumpkin seeds, and make them every time I crack open a pumpkin. I love chocolate. And everyone knows that I’m a certified saltaholic.  But somehow it’s never before occured to me to combine my three loves into one gorgeous, salty-sweet snack.  Maybe it’s because I am making my pumpkin & kale mole for dinner with Amy tonight and I had pumpkin and chocolate on the brain, but I am sooooooo glad I finally thought “Hey, why not make a salty-chocolaty pumpkin seed this time?”

Every woman who has ever suffered through a bout of PMS, one hand in the M&Ms and the other in a bag of chips, knows well the value of Salt and Chocolate Therapy.  I may have just discovered my new go-to Sweet n’ Salty Remedy recipe. Bonus points: it couldn’t be simpler. Toss pumpkin seeds with cocoa, raw sugar and coarse salt, roast for 20 minutes, and suddenly… you’re in Heaven.

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Salt & Cocoa Pumpkin Seeds

INGREDIENTS

• seeds from one, 3-lb sugar pumpkin, cleaned of stringy pumpkin innards, but not rinsed (about 1 to 2 cups)
• 2 tbsp turbinado sugar
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa (I like Dagoba Organic)
• 1 tbsp coarse sea salt or Kosher salt

METHODS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the salt, sugar and cocoa until well blended.  Add to the unrinsed pumpkin seeds. Mix just until the cocoa powder disappears (overmixing will result in a chocolate syrup forming that will clump and not coat as well).
3. Spread evenly onto a rimmed baking sheet that has been coated with a spritz of olive oil spray.  Try to spread the seeds out to a single layer.
4. Roast in a preheated 350 degree F oven until the cocoa becomes very fragrant and you start to hear some of the seeds popping, about 20 – 25 minutes.  Remove from the oven and transfer the pan to a cooling rack. Loosen the seeds from the bottom of the pan, using a thin spatula, before they are cooled, but allow them to cool on the pan. They will crisp as they cool.  Enjoy!

Yields not nearly enough.

OPTIONS

1. I like to leave the pumpkin seeds unrinsed as the pumpkin juice carmelizes as the seeds roast and adds a lovely, sweet flavor.  If you feel you must rinse them off, use a tiny bit of olive oil or egg white in order to help make the cocoa-sugar-salt coating stick.

STORE

You think you’ll store these?  Ha!  I’m trying not to eat them all before Amy gets here.  Ahem… they should last at room temp for at least a few days, if for some reason someone in your house is allergic to chocolate.  Or pumpkin. Or has their jaw wired shut.  If it is damp weather the seeds may lose some crispness; you can recrisp them in a 350 degree F oven for about 10 minutes.

SEASON

Fall through winter.

Apple Parmesean Crumble

An apple a day keeps the doctor away!  If that’s true, then Tai should be a very healthy boy. The apples are still flowing daily at our house; this recipe I’ve made three times now (in smaller, half-sized batches that I bake in a tart dish or small pie pan) and Tai is thoroughly enjoying it.

This crumble is simple, relatively quick, and can be easily assembled while you are putting together dinner and popped into the oven in time for the dessert course. The filling is kept as simple as possible so the flavor of the apples really shines through, and the topping is a nice twist on the traditional apple-cheddar cheese pie that is popular in the South.  With a minimum of sugar, whole wheat flour, and farm-fresh organic apples, this is a healthy, easy and delicious dessert that you’ll be happy to serve to family and friends again and again.

Adapted from Apple-Asiago Pie in Your Organic Kitchen by Jesse Ziff Cool and Best All American Apple Pie in The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum

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Apple Parmesean Crumble

INGREDIENTS

Filling

• 3 lbs baking apples (I used Stayman Winesap and IdaRed from Fishkill Farms)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch

Topping

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup grated parmesean cheese (or other hard grating cheese)
• 3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tbsp butter, diced to 1/4-inch cubes and frozen for at least 30 minutes
• a few dashes of cayenne pepper

METHODS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Peel, core and slice the apples. Toss the apple slices in lemon juice as you go, to prevent browning. Add brown sugar, honey, salt, and nutmeg to the apples. Toss to combine and allow the apples to macerate in the sugar while you are preparing the topping (at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours).
3. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, black pepper and frozen butter cubes. Pulse 3 or 4 times, or until the butter becomes the size of small peas. (Alternatively, you can rub the butter-flour mixture between your fingers to achieve the same result).  Transfer to a medium bowl and add the brown sugar and cheese.  Mix well, and work a bit with your hands to create a ‘crumbly’ texture.  Set aside.
4. Drain the exuded juices from the apple slices into a small saucepan. Add the 1 tbsp butter and cook over medium heat, swirling the pan, but not stirring the sauce, until the juice is reduced, syrupy and thickly bubbling (about 10 minutes).
5. Meanwhile, toss the cornstarch with the apple slices until it disappears. 
6. Pour the reduced juice/syrup over the apple slices. Toss to mix. Transfer to an 8- or 9-inch pie dish.
7. Sprinkle the topping over the apple slices evenly.
8. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 1 hour, or until juices are bubbling and the topping is nicely browned.  I recommend baking on a rimmed baking sheet, or a large sheet of tinfoil, in case of bubbling over.
9. Allow to cool at least 1 hour prior to serving.  Garnish with vanilla ice cream or a thinly sliced sliver of parmesean cheese.

Yields 10 servings (or, you know, 2).

OPTIONS

1. The original recipe called for a bottom pastry crust.  There is so much flavor in the topping, that I don’t think it’s necessary, but feel free to add a bottom crust if you like.
2. If you are pressed for time, you can skip the maceration of the apples and reduction of the juice.  The crumble will definitely be more watery, but since there is no bottom crust this is not a huge issue.
3. When I made the filling entirely with honey, it was quite watery; tasty, but watery. The topping really needs some form of sugar, so this would be difficult to make 100% local.

STORE

At room temperature, 2 days.  Refrigerated, up to 5 days, although the topping will become increasingly soggy.

SEASON

Apple season (fall through winter) but with a frozen or canned apple pie filling, you can make this all year round.