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One Year Old Traditional Apple Butter Still Awesome, Shelf Stable Recipe

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After almost a year, my shelf stable apple butter is still delicious with no mould or other problems. That is after a summer stored in a very hot area with many days over 100 degrees f. and frequently over 90 degrees. This old school preserve has a place and needs to be brought back into use.
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Real apple butter, as it used to be made predated canning jars and was a shelf stable food stored in crocks and kegs. Though nearly a lost art, this delicious traditional preserve is not particularly hard to make. Apple juice and apples are cooked down until very thick and that's pretty much it! It is delicious.

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17 окт 2016

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Комментарии : 115

@peruviantardfish 7 лет назад

I'm not really one to comment on youtube videos very often but I just wanted to say that your content is absolutely amazing. You're one of the few channels I subscribe to that genuinely excites me when a new video comes out. Keep up the good work! I look forward to watching your videos for years to come.

@SkillCult 7 лет назад

well thanks, I appreciate the sentiment. I hope to be making content for years to come...

@SkillCult 7 лет назад

careful, me head is already pretty big :)

@emd1405 2 года назад

What he said!

@LolitasGarden 7 лет назад

I made a batch after I saw this video, but I didn't see it until sometime in late summer. My batch is a bit closer to the commercial variety in its viscosity, but I stopped stirring around midnight. I appreciate the update - it looks the same as the day you Pinterested that twine onto it.

@tylerstone2917 4 года назад

Really wish YT had pushed your channel my way sooner. Lots of thanks to you for your research and your continued research in traditional and new techniques for land and food.

@SkillCult 4 года назад

Thank you Tyler.

@speedreading4kids549 6 лет назад

SkillCult, Thanks for your inspiring videos on making Shelf-Stable Apple Butter. Being inspired by your videos, I've made 2 batches already, using my own recipe. The first one was Feb 5th, 2018, and it's still in perfect shape five months later--without any refrigeration (and in the warmest room in the house). I'll post a follow-up video soon, with my own recipe for shelf-stable Apple Butter. Again, GOOD WORK!

@SkillCult 6 лет назад

Excellent to hear! I have some probably over 2.5 years now, still going strong.

@dylanfeliciano394 7 лет назад

I've been long awaiting another apple butter video. Thanks for the content!

@HiddenBlessingsHomestead 11 месяцев назад

Thank you for all your research. I believe it is so important to not forget the old ways. We live in a world with every convenience, but that world is very fragile. I enjoy conveniences, but also believe we MUST know how to live without them. We must experience it for ourselves, do it, taste it, touch it, know it for yourself, then when the time comes when we need it, you will know how to survive. Keep up the videos and updates.

@SkillCult 11 месяцев назад

the other aspect of this though is that it can also be produced commercial, in which case it is more conventient since you don't have to refrigerate it or use it up in a set time. It also is more nutrition concentrated in a the same size jar. I hope you get a chance to try this. My first batches are 7 years old now and still fine. I'm also been making cider syrup which keeps at room temp too.

@AmanitaDreamer 3 года назад

Oooookay Imma make an amanita apple butter, for relaxation. I made amanita fruit chews with applesauce using a dehydrator, now I wanna try this!

@WimsMill 4 года назад

Belgium: Stroop or Sirop. Something typical from my region and made a little different. Mostly Pear is used. But this is also interesting.

@SkillCult 4 года назад

A viewer from Holland sent me some Applestroop. It was excelent. Here in the states, that is called cider jelly. It is very uncommon now and almost no one even knows what it is. I'd like to see all of these products come back. I think they have a place in both commerce and home production.

@cgregornik 5 лет назад

After watching your Apple Butter videos, I think this type of apple butter if far better than the way it is made today. I look forward to making this in the fall.

@TheWhedgit 7 лет назад

Perfect timing. A neighbor just gave us a huge tote full of apples. They are super sweet and need to be processed up or were going to lose them. We currently make our apple butter with lots of sugar and spices. This should make a healthier option.

@SkillCult 7 лет назад

Excellent!

@rondianderson4402 Год назад

Can't wait to try this. We do living history volunteer work and think this will be great to make and serve to friends.

@SkillCult Год назад

That's great!

@rondianderson4402 Год назад

@@SkillCult the bibliography on your website is excellent.

@oldhighwayhomestead378 7 лет назад

That looks delicious! It reminds me of quince cheese! I grew up eating it, it would also last forever, with a farm cheese is just the instant dessert that never fails! Yum

@SkillCult 7 лет назад

Yes, I've heard of such a thing. Sometimes quince are added to apple butter for flavor.

@eb282 7 лет назад

I had a treat in the republic of Georgia where they dipped a string of nuts in some unknown fruit "butter" many times like a candle to build a nice layer. It was pretty good and not very sweet.

@2294cb 4 года назад

Eric Brown Churchkhela. It’s a grape and flour mixture.

@toadstkr 3 года назад

It looks exactly like the apple butter my mom used to make she was born and raised in post ww2 Germany and they preserved everything they could because of food shortages in markets

@SkillCult 3 года назад

It probably came here with the "Pennsylvania Dutch" who were Germans.

@adriennemichel833 6 лет назад

thanks for your time and effort i agree to reviving lost arts!!

@SkillCult 6 лет назад

You're welcome :)

@GrownToCook 7 лет назад

Hi Steven, I live in the Netherlands where a kind of shelf stable apple or pear butter ('appelstroop' in Dutch) is available in every grocery store. We had a huge harvest of Conference pears this year, so I wanted to make a pear version. When I searched for Dutch recipes, they all said to use juice only. I did that, but probably boiled it down too much (the commercial version has a very dark color so I thought I had to achieve that) and now though delicious and probably very shelf stable, it is so hard, it is very difficult to use. I made another batch following your method adding chopped pears to the juice and that one has a much better, spreadable consistency. I will have to see how long it lasts, not sure I coooked it down enough. I find it very difficult to determine the optimum cooking time. I come from the Czech Republic, by the way, where a similar product is also made with plums. Thanks for the video, it was very helpful (much more than the info I could find in Ducth)

@SkillCult 7 лет назад

It is hard to get the consistency right. I'm sure it gets easier, but when it's hot the sugar is still molten so it appears to be very wet, when actually most of the water is gone and it's turning into something more like caramel. I keep a couple of thick cold ceramic plates in the fridge and smear bits on them to cool while I'm cooking it. I just made a new batch and I think it turned out just the right consistency, but we'll see as it stores. It sure is good though. Thanks or the anecdotes about traditional European fruit spreads. No doubt this idea migrated from Europe hundreds of years ago. I'm sure there are similar traditional products all over the world.

@farmerjones5479 3 года назад

Bravo! Appreciate your effort.

@AnalSarcophagus 2 года назад

Tried this last year and one year later it’s still good! I’m gonna try this using actual sugar

@SkillCult 2 года назад

My batches from this first video are still good, stored at room temp.

@jakobgrunstein1092 5 лет назад

most awesome channel

@Adam-xr6fj 6 лет назад

We basically make the same thing with plums. I heared that you don't even need a lid because it develops a hardened layer at the top that keeps it from spoiling and remains edible at the same time.

@SkillCult 6 лет назад

I have no doubt that many of these preparations would keep without lids. It's probably climate dependent though. I had some covered with paper and they just dried out into something more like cheese consistency. In other really wet climates I could see the sugars pulling moisture from the air since sugar is so hygroscopic,and eventually molding.

@pmich1000 4 года назад

Any update on this for 2019? I have made it in this style 3 years in a row but never have any left over to age.

@SkillCult 4 года назад

No sign at all of spoilage or anything like that. Quality still excellent. It's all good.

@666Necropsy 2 года назад

@@SkillCult nice

@christurley391 6 лет назад

Nice project Steven.

@robthomas3968 5 лет назад

Brilliant video, I'm going to try to make some

@bobbydogbear1710 2 года назад

I did a batch. Started with a quart of cider and a quart of apples. Ended with a pint and a half. Close but not quite thick enough I think.

@SkillCult 2 года назад

Yeah, probably needs to be much thicker. but it doesn't have to be as thick as I made it.

@congamike1 7 лет назад

We make applebutter in a 30 gallon copper kettle. Someone pronounces it "finished" much earlier in the process than you describe. I'll try a small batch with your process in the crock pot soon. Thanks!

@SkillCult 7 лет назад

Yeah, try it, you'll like it.

@athaclanor 4 года назад

Can not wait to try this, so many food preservation methods are reliant on outside resources which seems counter to the self reliance sorta thing

@SkillCult 4 года назад

YES, EXACTLY! No new canning lids to buy even. It rocks and all batches are still good a few years later!

@southwestprimitiveantonio9123 7 лет назад

Looks so good!

@daveh4106 7 лет назад

We'll have to give this a try next year. Any thoughts about using a crock pot? Another great video.

@SkillCult 7 лет назад

No, just that it seems really easy and probably wouldn't tend to stick and burn. Let me know if you try it.

@colinmcgee5931 3 года назад

Brilliant, thank you! Can you think of any reason not to do this with berries, peaches, and other fruits?

@SkillCult 3 года назад

If there is not enough sugar, it may not keep. Even the old apple butter recipes sometimes added sugar if the apples were not sweet enough. Similar products in different parts of the world were common with other fruits. Plums, pears, apricots.

@MrMousedude 7 лет назад

I bet it'd be good with some pears added. maybe quince.

@clancy6969 7 лет назад

Very interesting! I imagine you must have smsny other ideas for those apples, a cider press would be a great video, and maybe try fermenting some. ;)

@KyleMerl 7 лет назад

I'm going to try this!

@SkillCult 7 лет назад

Tis the season, at least in this hemisphere.

@ontic2354 11 месяцев назад

Alongside the water and sugar levels, I suspect the pH from the natural and variable apple acids are getting concentrated and helping the shelf stability. Would be interesting to do a pH test strip on each of your batches, during and after cooking, and particularly take note of any that fail to help figure out where the line is regarding viscosity/sugar levels and natural acidity.

@SkillCult 11 месяцев назад

I have thought that as well, but really can't be sure. the cider syrup keeps better than maple syrup at room temp, which will grow mold eventually, but the maple might keep better if they cooked it down more too. dunno. Interesting problem though.

@ontic2354 11 месяцев назад

@@SkillCult yeah, I suppose there are other things that affect such things aside from just water, sugar and pH. I’ve been pretty amazed at the shelf stability of mugolio (pine syrup) I have made which is just cooked pine cone juice and sugar (extracted by osmosis from putting them in sugar). At thinner than jam consistency it doesn’t seem to want to grow anything. Ts great stuff.

@hobbexp 7 лет назад

remember that apple butter video, was that a year a go, wow

@SkillCult 7 лет назад

not sure exactly, but going on a year, nov or dec last year.

@saltriverorchards4190 2 года назад

If my community would get back to doing things like the 7 year apple butter party, I would be more involved in my community. Is it possible to miss something you’ve never participated in?

@violetvioletviolet1 Год назад

I've been looking for an applebutter recipe... the reason is because my friends have a band... guess what they're called?? Applebutter express!! They are amazing! I've been wanting to make a batch for an upcoming show of theirs... if your up for sharing your recipe w anyone?? id love to be able to make some to share at the shows! You should check em out too!! I love all of their songs but my most recent favorite is one called keep it together.. Great videos great info! Look forward to more of your stuff!

@SkillCult Год назад

There is enough info in the vid ,but it's basically 1 part juice to 1 part peeled and cored apples. You can use a little more juice than apples if you want.

@violetvioletviolet1 Год назад

@@SkillCult thank you!

@Claythargic 2 года назад

when you say one part juice one part quartered peeled apples are you talking by weight or approx volume? in either case this looks incredible.

@SkillCult 2 года назад

It's volume.

@michaelsullenberger3885 6 лет назад

I feel like I've been missing out on real apple BUTTER all this time.

@SkillCult 6 лет назад

yeah, we all have.

@bucknash 7 лет назад

very cool! thanks for the idea. I've got an orange pippin tree that really produced this year. Unfortunately the rodents (rats) have a habit of taking a single bite from each apple. But this year they left us a bushel or so untouched. I don't have a juicer though so I wonder if store bought juice from concentrate will work as well. i could get some nice pure juice but that's a lot more costly.

@SkillCult 7 лет назад

I'm sure any juice will work as long as it's sweet. I see juicers at thrift stores sometimes. Maybe keep an eye out for one, they're nice to have.

@olddave4833 5 лет назад

just wondering but we make our own apple sauce and then make our apple butter from it. all our apples are just washed, quartered and cooked in a very large pot, skins, seeds and all, then we run them thru an old hand crank food mill to separate the seeds, skins ect. we've been doing it that way for probably fifty plus years and no one has died from it yet. I think by not peeling them we get the advantage of the pectin that is just under the skins.

@SkillCult 5 лет назад

Is it hot packed or heat canned, or is it shelf stable at room temp? If it's canned, it really doesn't matter. I think the point of juicing most of the apples is to raise the total sugar content. Even with that, some recipes call for added sugar as needed to achieve the preservative effect. A lot of apple butter now is essentially concentrated apple sauce, which was not possible before canning jars became widely available.. Once the jars came into wide use, this type of apple butter and apple cider jelly and syrups almost disappeared..

@MrPeter0201 7 лет назад

That 1:06 crunch though

@666Necropsy 2 года назад

has anyone tried this with pears. if the dutch did it i should be able to as well. i would think its to humid here though. i will attempt some apple butter. i will save a little to take down even further like this. i have some frozen apples partially cooked down. i have already made some killer apple sauces. harvest is coming. i am always coming back to this channel for apple related projects i am doing. best wishes steve.

@666Necropsy 2 года назад

i didnt know about the risks of using copper or brass pots. i dont own any, i probably wont in the future. the new ceramic coatings seem pretty good. i have seen a brand of pots that claim to be copper coated. i wonder if this applies to them.

@666Necropsy 2 года назад

By the action of the malic acid during boiling upon the surface of the kettle, especially if the latter is tarnished in any way, a small amount of copper malate is apt to be formed and taken up by the contents of the kettle. Copper malate, like other organic salts of copper, is a virulent poison, and its presence in food materials renders the use of the latter necessarily dangerous. Several deaths have resulted in Pennsylvania the past fall from neglect of this precaution.

@SkillCult 2 года назад

I know you can use pears, but I haven't . I would steer clear of copper. they used it because iron would ruin the apple butter and back then it was pretty much iron, copper, or tinned copper (also toxic). copper was expensive, but it was the closest thing to an inert metal back then.

@666Necropsy 2 года назад

@@SkillCult imagine the silver jelly pots lol. i wonder if the tiny amount of silver would have increased storage? i know people used silver dollars in fresh milk. great articles you have put together. thank you.

@cojakiki3631 2 года назад

This is still made today in almost all Slavic cultures.

@SkillCult 2 года назад

That's good to hear

@GFD472 7 лет назад

Steven, are you going to try a large batch this fall?

@SkillCult 7 лет назад

I'd like to, but I have no access to apples from anywhere else this year and I don't have very many of my own unfortunately.

@trishv4483 7 лет назад

Clicking on the links to get to the blog posts is giving me a "couldn't find the page" error- help? :)

@SkillCult 7 лет назад

Hmmmm.... Dunno, they work fine for me and seem to be in order. Try this link skillcult.com/search?q=apple%20butter let me know if that works

@trishv4483 7 лет назад

Must be a personal problem... :) Links still don't work for me, but the search string gets me to them. Thanks! :)

@pauldrowns7270 7 лет назад

Apple sauce is for the lazy and impatient... I've always preferred apple butter because it also involves toast I've always gone from the pot to jar, and then refrigerator, and have had AB last for 3 to 4 years. Tighter and sweeter makes sense. I'll try it this fall. I've also discovered that I can find a 1 gallon columnar still for around $100, and that started me thinking that AB and apple whiskey were both founded on preservation of a resource. What were those red-fleshed apples???

@SkillCult 7 лет назад

mmm toast.... The American Apple Jack was originally made by freezing hard cider in the open weather. At extreme low temps, the alcohol and water separate and the ice is discarded. That red fleshed apple was Grenadine. The red fleshed apple I fruited this year and made a video about is an offspring of Grenadine. I have used it a lot in breeding. It makes amazing juice, but it not the most refined desert apple, so I'm basically trying to improve it. Amazing flavor though. It probably has the most intense fruit punch/berry flavor of any red fleshed apple I've tasted.

@pauldrowns7270 7 лет назад

Will you choose a name when you improve it to your liking? Back to AB...have you ever made fruit leather?

@SkillCult 7 лет назад

I think I've probably made fruit leather, but not very much is so. It's cool though. Naming it is the best part! I was literally thinking of that just a few minutes ago, because I'll probably mention it in a video I hope to record today.

@dseipel2 4 года назад

How are the butters now?

@SkillCult 4 года назад

everytime I check they are completely fine and still tasty. and they have always been store in a room that gets into the 90's, or even to 100 sometimes every summer.

@eaglescoutbushcraft6228 Год назад

Still waiting on multi year update sir.

@SkillCult Год назад

I should do that.

@RAlN71 5 лет назад

I make molasses that is exactly what this is. A gallon of juice cooks down to less than a pint of molasses, or butter.

@SkillCult 5 лет назад

Very cool. We can't grow sugar cane here without protection, but we can grow sorghum. I've always wanted to grow a crop and make syrup.

@RAlN71 5 лет назад

I just realized that I did not include the word apple in my response. I make apple molasses which is what you've done. Or start with juice only and cook it less for actual syrup. Anyways, just saying the name is different but the product is the same. :) I've always been interested in sorghum but it doesn't grow here where I am at. Do you grow it yourself?

@SkillCult 5 лет назад

@@RAlN71 I haven't, grown it yet. Some friends grew some and gave me some sorghum syrup they made. I'd also like to try growing it just to chew like sugar cane. I wonder too if it's possible to start sugarcane early under cover and pull it off here. I love chewing on raw sugar cane.

@RAlN71 5 лет назад

Wish I could tell ya. I live in the a cold rainy forest; we grow shrooms not sugar :)

@iknowyouwanttofly 3 года назад

I still dont understand why it does not get that botox stuff its no added acid.

@SkillCult 3 года назад

You probably mean botulinum toxin. It's actually very high in acid. most fruits can can without added acid already, but this is super concentrated. The sugar may also be too high. I"m not sure what the sugar level is high enough, if any, to prevent the growth of botulism, but this is extremely concentrated, so it's very high in both.

@linusyootasteisking 3 года назад

update soon?

@SkillCult 3 года назад

I should do that this fall or early winter. But all is well and have been eating the batch from 2016 lately, stored at room temp just with a lid.

@linusyootasteisking 3 года назад

@@SkillCult great :D would be nice to know if it was preferable with or without seasoning (like cinnamon) :)

@jdub7550 6 лет назад

What kind of apples were those that had that reddish flesh? I've never seen that before.

@SkillCult 6 лет назад

Those there were Grenadine, but there are other red fleshed apples too.

@jdub7550 6 лет назад

SkillCult cool! I've never seen apples like that here in Georgia before. Thanks!

@SkillCult 6 лет назад

They are still uncommon, but several breeding programs around the world are working on new varieties and so are quite a few home breeders like me. So, you'll see more of them soon and they should be common in markets within the next 10 years I would guess. They're cool. They actually taste red, like punch or berries.

@buck19 6 лет назад

Mind grew mold in about 2 months

@SkillCult 6 лет назад

Must be either too low of sugar content or too much water. I still have yet to see any mold on any of them, oldest 2.5 yrs. it is possible if they are stored open in a humid environment to attract moisture from the air and then mold though. What apples did you use? A lot of store apples are not all that sweet. Many of the old recipes suggest adding sugar if the apples are not sweet enough.

@PhilaPeter 7 лет назад

Well I just commented on your last one. It's still alive and well in the Northeast but it's more runny and not as shelf stable.

@SkillCult 7 лет назад

Yes, apple butter is common, just in a different form. The literature I found shows a pretty rapid transition to apple butter that requires canning v.s. the shelf stable stuff. I heard the Amish still make this kind. I'm sure there are others too, but seems very uncommon.