From Tree to Table - Apple Butter the Easy Method

So we have been living in this house for a number of years and our apple tree has never been as laden with fruit as it is this year. Partly because we had a really nasty spring last year which made the poor tree loose all but one bud. The trauma caused it to bloom out of every possible area and make more fruit then we can use. Generally this old apple tree starts losing it's apples in mid July. This year everything is a bit late and it's just started to heavily rain apples on us. Also the weather has been so harsh that the appleworms just aren't here like they normally are. This is presenting us with a rare combination and opportunity to take advantage of.

 

So having read several posts on making apple butter in the slow cooker I decided to give it a go. I normally use the oven method but this looked so simple it was needing to be tested. The kids and I hauled out the extension ladder and got picking. The apples are low in sugar still making them very tart but still good for this job.

Please note that jars should be sterilized before filling them. There's nothing like the aroma of fresh made apple butter to make one think of fall time. It may be mid summer but it's blowing and chilly here today. As I get our classroom ready to start back to school fall is heavy on my mind.