Home made apple butter

[A Simple Pine Box]

I've played around with the spices for a few years, this is how we like it best. Peel & chop the apples which leaves chunks for the final product, until crockpot is slightly overflowing. Place lid on top and apples will cook down the first 2-3 hours so that the lid fits tightly by the time you are ready to go to bed.

This recipe is for the larger crockpots. I suppose you could half or quarter the recipe for smaller crocks.

4 c sugar (more or less depends how sour the apples are)
4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp, scant, cloves
1/4 tsp salt (ok to omit)
dash of nutmeg (more gets the apples too dark and takes over the flavors)

Cook 8 hrs. Water bath 15 minutes. Makes 6-7 pints.

[Davy Crockett]

Lake Lady, you're lucky to have those choices.
I think DW said that Wally and Dollar General didn't have cloves so (as far as I know) it was grocery stores

[Lake Lady]

Davy Crockett, The closest town to us is 10 miles away and is about as podunk as it gets. I guess I'm very lucky they didn't inflate the price since we really don't have any choices without driving much further away to get to a 'real' store. I'm going back in the next few days and doing some serious stocking up on spices.

[Davy Crockett]

I'm like you and my closest town is about 10 miles.
Very limited shopping choices.

My wife was trembling at a bottle of allspice for $6 instead of $9 for the cloves

[Summerthyme]

http://www.atlanticspice.com/

1 POUND whole cloves, $6.35

1 POUND whole allspice $6.40

Vacuum seal them in canning jars and they'll keep for YEARS (preferably in a cool spot)

They also sell ground spices, and those will keep for at least a couple years if vacuum sealed in a glass jar, but their shelf life is probably 1/4 of that of the whole spices. Get a good spice grinder and you're set for life..

Summerthyme

[Davy Crockett]

Thanks for the resource, Summerthyme.
I'll bookmark and start to stockpile.
How do you grind spices?
Dumb question, I think

[Lake Lady]

Thank you Summerthyme, I just place an order and bookmarked it for the future as well!

[Lake Lady]

Davy Crockett, I have a coffee grinder that I no longer use for coffee that will grind very fine. They aren't expensive at all...

[Davy Crockett]

Cool, thanks Lady Lake

[rafter]

Unless you have an apple tree, it is probably a lot cheaper to just buy a large #10 can of applesauce from Sam's or a cheap grocery store.

That is how our entire extended family makes it. Put it in the crock pot with more sugar, a lot of cinnamon and let it cook down.