How To Make Apple Butter

I thought I'd switch it up a bit on my blog for tonight and share this from

my uncle Steve Custer, Enjoy!

How To Make

“Momma’s Apple Butter”

This description comes from the annual apple butter making

festivities as executed and recorded by members

of the W. Clinton and Eva Guilliams Custer

family at brother Carey’s lodge near

Ferrum, Virginia on October 13 and 14, 2011.

Participants – all siblings listed – oldest first:

Dan Custer and son Keith – Part Time on Friday

Loretta Sigmon – Thursday

Lorraine Roberts – Thursday and Friday

Cathy (Kitten) Guilliams – Thursday and Friday

Steve and Sue Custer – Thursday and Friday

Carey and Betty Custer – Thursday and Friday

Tony Custer – Showed up to collect a sample

Ann, Roger and Decon Sledd – Part Time Thursday and Friday

Day 1 – Thursday, October 13, 2011Two days, rather than trying to do it all in one day, adds to the fellowship and creates less of a strain on the body and mind (negotiation is stressful especially for older people).

Main Ingedients:

6 bushels Golden Delicious apples

2 bushels Stayman Winesap apples

Apples should be well ripened, but not mushy. Mushy apples make good cider but are extremely hard to peel for apple butter.

Sugar (to come later)

Cinnamon (last to enter)

Photo Captions:

I’ve tried to place the captions, as well as the directions and pertinent information, at the tops of the photos on the next few pages. (The inferred recipe and description are written and photographed by Steve….I really did do more than just sit around and take notes and photos!)

All participants noted, plus some additional “visitors” that had to get a hand into the fray, were peeling and cutting apples for 4 hours (1:30PM to 5:30PM) on Thursday. We delivered for the pot: 60 gallons (three [3] 19-gallon heaping tubs) of cut up apples.

We used Daddy’s 35 gallon copper kettle and provided all necessary heat for cooking using a 4 burner propane gas arrangement that Loretta’s husband, Bobby had fabricated and loaned to us. All this was set up prior to the cooking beginning on Friday.

Day 2 – Friday, October 14, 2011

Carey had the fire going at 6:00 AM, and brought 1 ½ gallons of apple cider to a bubble before adding the first apples.

Lorraine put two small kettles of the cut-up apples on the stove in the cabin and cooked them so as to speed up the cooking in the pot at the beginning of the process.

As the cooking began and continued, 3 – 4 people were washing and adding apples to the mix – here’s Betty and Kitten.

At all times while the fire was under the pot, someone was stirring the pot in a rhythmic pulsation. An old rhyme to help the stirrer concentrate on covering the bottom of the pot with the paddle goes something like:

“Two times round the edge and one up the middle

Every time you touch the bale you have to kiss the kettle.”

Everyone had an opinion on how much heat to use during the cooking – Kitten shares hers here. Consensus was to keep the mixture bubbling but not enough for the mixture to splash out.

All apples were in the pot by 8:45 ………………………and cooking continued....

Dan provided new help…………..and cooking continued…. Someone forgot to tell Lorraine, Carey, Kitten and Betty that a pot won’t boil if you continue to watch it.

Sue got into the stirring act …..and the cooking continued………………..

Apples were totally cooked up by 12:30, and we started adding the sugar. After we added 49 pounds everyone started tasting. Carey said “need more”, Kitten said “just right”, Lorraine said “too much”….everyone had an opinion. Finally everyone agreed to add another 4 pounds. After that was added Carey sneaked another 4 pounds into the pot!! We used 57 lbs of sugar total.

After all sugar was added we continued to cook/stir for another 2 hours….the dog (Gunner) was smart enough to stay away from the fire - don’t know what Debbie was trying to show Keith.

Applebutter was completely cooked by 3:00 when we took the fire off and added cinnamon. Kitten put in 5 ½ drams of liquid cinnamon – Carey said it was too much, Lorraine said just right, everyone else kept their opinion to themselves

We continued to stir for 15 – 30 minutes while the cinnamon propagated through the mix before starting to dip and place in the jars. Even while we dipped the apple butter out of the pot we continued to stir. Betty, Kitten, Sue and Lorraine formed an assembly line filling the jars and were finished taking the apple butter from the pot by 4:00 PM.

Carey finished “sopping” all the applebutter from the pot. Note: Ann continued to stir the apple butter until all had been removed.

All told, we canned 24 gal and 3 pints in quart, pint and half pint jars (some people are still complaining about having to fill the small jars because it took too much time). With the heat still in the apple butter the lids were self sealing as the lids “set” to the jars. You can note the color – see last photo – of the apple butter is a reddish brown not dark like some of the mid-west apple butter I’ve seen, and with the consistency of ……..well, apple butter. We like it almost pourable – not thick enough to have to spoon/dig it from the jar.

If you would like to purchase a jar (quart/pint/half pint) some of the same group annually makes a batch, using the same recipe, at the church where we grew up. The sale of this batch serves as a mission outreach at Bethany Church of the Brethren located near Callaway, Virginia. Selling price is less than $10/quart plus shipping. Contact Loretta Sigmon at Lsigmon@dishmail.net to see if any is available……just found out they sold out – better luck next year. Thinking ahead to next year you might be able to volunteer to help in the actual making and thus gain a front row seat to buy a jar. The fellowship alone provides enough inspiration to make you want to come back. I know I can’t wait until next year. Momma’s apple butter may not be what you’re used to but I promise you it is goooood!!!

Here is a photo of the finished product. I hope you get a chance to obtain a jar and enjoy it as much as we do…..you might even decide to partake in all the festivities and make a batch of “Momma’s Apple Butter” for you and your family.

For posterity, I include a photo of the immediate family at our annual reunion on the Saturday after making the apple butter.