‘saving the season’ apple butter recipe, with kevin west
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA-based but Southeast-bred Kevin West strikes me at once as a very modern and also a very old-fashioned guy–a great combination to my mind. Quotes from the classical Roman poet Virgil open the chapters in his book, “Saving the Season: A Cook’s Guide to Home Canning, Pickling and Preserving,” which is also loaded with old-fashioned fruits he hopes we haven’t forgotten about.
But the recipes are smart, and the science and food safety is up-to-the-minute 21st century. Kevin joined me on the radio when the book came out, to share his best seasonal tips, and his apple-butter recipe (photo above).
When we caught up, Kevin was between batches of quince paste and fermented West Indian gherkin pickles–and about to head out for a leg of his book tour. The book is loaded with tips and tricks for anyone wanting to put up fruits, from apples to pears to the more unusual types, including the how-to’s of quince paste (a.k.a. membrillo); crabapples (as jelly or poached); damson plum preserves, and other antique-fruit recipes, right through to green-tomato tricks.
Kevin’s apple butter recipe is excerpted below.
kevin west’s apple butter
(yields 2 pints)
Reprinted with permission from “Saving the Season,” by Kevin West; and in his words:
SWEETENED WITH APPLE CIDER—no added sugar!—and very lightly spiced, this apple butter is mahogany-brown and intensely flavored. I use a mixed bag of apples, a third of which are acidic varieties such as ‘Granny Smith,’ to get the proper sweet-tart balance. Unlike the other fruit butters in this book, this one does not have the apples puréed at any point in the cooking.
The texture is better if you begin with sliced, unpeeled apples, and then allow the long cooking and frequent stirring to break them down naturally. Also unlike many apple butter recipes, this one has the spices added in tiny quantities toward the end of cooking. As I say elsewhere, you can always add more spice if you like, but you can’t take any out.
During cooking, the ingredients will reduce to about one-third of their initial volume. Stick a bamboo skewer straight down into the pot at the start of cooking to gauge the depth of the ingredients. Mark the level with a pencil, and keep the skewer handy as a guide. Given the hours-long cooking time, a slow cooker, its cover lifted by two chopsticks laid across the pot, would be convenient for this recipe.
- 5 pounds mixed apple varieties, including 1⁄3 tart
- ½ gallon unfiltered apple cider
- 2 allspice berries
- 20 fresh gratings of cinnamon
- 10 fresh gratings of nutmeg
Quarter and core the apples, then cut them into 5⁄8-inch slices. (Leave the peels on.) Put the slices in a deep ovenproof pot, and cover them with the apple cider. Bring the pot to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for about 4 hours, stirring every 15 minutes.
At the end of that time, most of the liquid will have evaporated, and the apples will look like chunky applesauce. Grind the allspice in a mortar and add it to the pot. Use a Microplane grater to rasp off the suggested amounts of cinnamon and nutmeg. Transfer the pot to a 300-degree oven to finish reducing. Stir every 10 minutes. The butter is done when it’s stiff, mahogany brown, and reduced to about one-third of its initial volume, after about 90 minutes in the oven. In the cold- saucer test, a teaspoon chilled in the freezer for 1 minute shouldn’t leak liquid at the edges. Taste and adjust the flavor with more spice if you like.
Pack the hot apple butter into four prepared wide- mouth ½-pint jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Run a skewer or other thin implement around the inside edge to release any air pockets. Seal the jars, and process in a boiling- water bath for 10 minutes.
Note: Sealed jars will keep for a year, but because there is no added sugar, apple butter will mold fairly quickly once opened. Refrigerate open jars, and plan to use them within 10 days.
(Excerpted from SAVING THE SEASON by Kevin West. Copyright © 2013 by Kevin West. Excerpted by permission of Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.)
how to enter to win ‘saving the season’
I’VE BOUGHT two extra copies “Saving the Season: A Cook’s Guide to Home Canning, Pickling and Preserving,” by Kevin West, to share with you. All you have to do to enter is answer this question in the comments box below (UPDATE: The giveway is finished, but comments are always welcome):
What’s the most unusual, or old-style, fruit you’ve cooked up this season–and did it find its way into your pantry, freezer or just onto your table?
I’m still applesauce-mad over here–nothing unusual about that–though my fruit comes from the trees in my garden that are over 100 years old, so perhaps it qualifies!
Have no anecdote to share, or feeling shy? That’s fine–just say, “Count me in” or some such in the comments, and I will. Two winners will be chosen at random after entries close at midnight on Monday, October 7. Good luck to all.
(Disclosure: Amazon affiliate book links yield a small commission that I use to purchase books for future giveaways.)
Went for peach pie, and it worked! Sometimes the sugar-to-peach taste ratio is off, or some fluky thing happens with the crust, but this time, it worked. Love the title of the book, Saving the Season, because that’s what I always want to do as time pushes the seasons by too, too fast.
Please count me in. And thank you!
No unusal fruit this season, but applesauce-mad here too. Please count me in.
Every summer I made my fabulous homemade strawberry jam that I picked fresh from my strawberry garden. This fruit is not unusual but I am growing two fig trees and once they product fruit I plan to make homemade fig jam and give them away as gifts!
Please count me in. I made chips out of Asian Pears and they’re actually better tasking than the apple chips I’ve been making.
I made my first batch of real Concord grape jam….amazing! Nothing like the store-bought only-for-kids stuff. Have also made about 5 batches of your simple tomato sauce–now waiting in the freezer for a great winter dinner. Thanks for that tip!
I didn’t have any fruit but did grow my own Roselle Hibiscus and made some jelly out of it…..and I have to say it taste like fruit (cranberries that is).. The rest I’m using in homemade soaps and drying some for blended tea’s.
Count me in. All the fruit I have had this season were fresh and not unusual.
I shook down our crabapple trees and turned those that let loose into some crabapple jelly. MMMMM.
I have 2 big quince trees in my back yard and they are almost ready to harvest. I give a large amount to my Persian neighbors who cook delicious stews with them. I am usually lucky and they bring me some of the cooked stews to try. I also seek out recipes to make with the quinces using herbs from the garden and freeze for future meals. They are delicious and unusual.
Ground cherries or pineapple tomatillos…depending on what source you look to. Kind of tasty. Thinking of growing my own next season
One of my favorite fruits are the hardy kiwis! Freeze them straight-up, then blend them into grape juice previously-frozen grapes. Delicious combination! Refreshing and thirst-quenching! I think the Bluebelle grapes are delicious for this, and very generous with their fruit!
Boonsboro Cantalope & Ranier Cherries cut up with peaches & berries,fresh mint & lime juice for an wonderful fruit salad
More hard-to-find than unusual, I use black currants in a number of different preserves. I have a stash of them in the freezer, and they’ll soon be used for an apple-black currant jam — an amazing substitute for cranberry sauce.
I have 2 large quince trees in my backyard and they will be ready soon. I give alot of them to my Persian neighbor who make a delicious stew-they usually bring us some stew to taste. I also use them in sauteeing and making stews which we eat for dinner or freeze and save for a yummy meal for later in winter. They are unusual and delicious and provide a great excuse to look at Persian cooking websites.
Since the United States decided to classify rhubarb as a fruit in 1947 and it is the only fruit I am growing…….I love my rhubarb and used it in muffins, bread and coffee cake this year. Each time I harvested some, I also chopped some up and added it to a bag in my freezer so I will be able to enjoy a little bit of spring through the winter!
I didn’t do anything unusual this summer. Just the standard tomatoes and herbs frozen for the winter.
Come to think of it, I need to eat some of those tomatoes to free up freezer space for apple sauce.
I have nothing unusual here. I just picked the end of my tomatillo and poblano’s and
I’m not sure how I will be canning them. I have limited jars so it looks like they will be combined.
I’m working on bletting some medlars. So far, so good!
Count me in, too! We have an 80 plus year old Bartlet Pear tree that helps us fill our pantry every year!
Please count me in!! Thanks for the opportunity Margaret. :)
I had a go at making Crabapple Jelly last summer :)
My brother in law gave us bags full of apples from an old apple tree and I made applesauce for the first time in my life.
I did plain jane apricot jam from our tree – I think it tastes like golden sunshine. Also did peach jam, but the peaches on our tree were either not fully ripe or ripe, but rotted at the pit. I called it “making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear” jam – it ain’t pretty, but it tastes good!
Loads of peaches were paired with our raspberries for smoothies and pies this summer