Apple Butter

If you have read enough of my posts you know that I love my slow cooker. I rely on it a lot. It makes my life so much easier to dump stuff in there and go. I like not being tied to the stove. I was hoping that I could incorporate my slow cooker into my new found love of canning. So far I am 0-2 on my attempts to use it for canning recipes. I officially give up until I can invest in a better slow cooker.

My first attempt was a Blueberry Butter recipe from Marisa McClellan of Food in Jars. My slow cooker starting scorching the blueberries way too early. My attempts to adjust the temperature were to no avail. I didn’t want to give up. I thought I would give it one more shot. Canning Across America had an apple butter recipe that seemed fairly easy to work with. Very little prep time involved. With a mixture of Gala and Granny Smith apples I had on hand I was ready to take on the challenge.

The recipe calls for you to cover and cook on high for one hour and then reduce heat to low and cook for about eight hours until the mixture is thickened and dark brown. I cooked it on high as directed and then switched it to low. Again, the low setting turned out to be too hot. The mixture was bubbling. I turned the setting down to warm and the mixture stopped bubbling and within hours began transforming into a dark brown color.  The problem was that the texture never transformed. It was too thin. I started the butter at 11:00 a.m. With one hour on high and then 8 hours on warm I was planning on canning it at 8:00 p.m. I should have started the butter earlier to give me more time to cook it. I’m sure if I left it in there for a few more hours or overnight it would have thickened to the perfect texture but I don’t feel safe leaving any appliance on overnight let alone the slow cooker I currently have.

Even though I knew it was not likely to happen I canned the butter hoping that it would thicken overnight as it set in the jars. No such luck. I will have to search for alternate ways to use the butter. Maybe on some ice cream? Hmmmm on vanilla ice cream sounds heavenly. Guess I will be eating LOTS of ice cream.

Since apples just came into season I plan on making another attempt at apple butter with a tried and true stove top recipe. I’m determined to have an ample supply of apple butter.

There is a hint of good news in my canning woes. While spending the day battling my slow cooker I also made Marisa’s Peach Jam. It turned out perfect! I know peach season will soon be over. I’m hoping to can more peaches in the next week or two then it will be time to try out another apple butter recipe. Oh and tomatoes. Can’t forget the tomatoes. They will soon be out of season too. Lots to do in the next couple of weeks.