Apple butter in three jars, with one placed on top of the other

Apple butter

Name: Apple butter
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 3 h 10 min
Yield: Makes about 4 x 250g jars
Ingredients: 2kg apples chopped into small pieces (no need to peel or core); 250ml cider or use the same amount of water or apple juice; 2 lemons juiced; 3 cinnamon sticks; 1 star anise; thumb-sized piece of ginger roughly chopped; few whole cloves; 250g granulated sugar; 250g light brown soft sugar

Samuel Goldsmith

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Makes about 4 x 250g jars

More effort

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 3 hrs

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Turn a glut of apples into homemade apple butter. This spiced fruit spread is perfect for topping toast or pancakes, swirling into porridge or using in bakes

Dairy-free

Egg-free

Gluten-free

Low fat

Vegetarian

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Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

2kg apples

chopped into small pieces (no need to peel or core)
250ml cider

or use the same amount of water or apple juice
2 lemons

juiced
3 cinnamon sticks
1 star anise
thumb-sized piece of ginger

roughly chopped
few whole cloves
250g granulated sugar
250g light brown soft sugar

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Nutrition: per tbsp

kcal35
fat0.1g
saturates0g
carbs8g
sugars8g
fibre0.2g
protein0.1g
salt0.03g

low

Method

step 1

Put the apples, cider, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, star anise, ginger and cloves in a pan, and pour over 750ml water. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat and cook for about 30 mins, or until the apples have softened and the liquid has reduced by about half.
step 2

Carefully remove the cinnamon sticks, star anise, ginger and cloves from the pan, then strain the apples through a sieve set over the pan or a heatproof bowl, reserving the liquid. Press the apple flesh through the sieve until just have the skins and cores remain. Discard these, and pour the liquid and pulp back into the pan if you're using a bowl. Stir in the sugars and ½ tsp salt (if you’ve used apple juice, you may need to use less sugar so it’s not too sweet).
step 3

Cook the mixture over a low heat for about 2 hrs 30 mins, stirring frequently until it has darkened in colour and is jam-like in texture. Be careful, as it can spit and will be hot. Decant into sterilised jars and seal. Will keep chilled for up to two weeks, unopened.

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