Shortly after Marisa McClellan’s third book, Naturally Sweet Food in Jars, was published, I intended to write about her apple butter recipe, which I had made and loved. I had also intended to post about it last fall, when I made it again, spooned it into jars, processed them, and miraculously found myself with a couple of nice-sized jars to gift as well as a small one to enjoy for myself. I brought one jar with me to Connecticut for the holidays, where it was very well received — we broke it out every morning to spoon into oatmeal or spread across toast and eat with scrambled eggs. It was such a treat to have on hand. Unlike many fruit butters, this one is sweetened exclusively with dates. It’s one of 100 recipes in Marisa’s book that is sweetened, as you can infer from the title, naturally. As is the case for many canners, Marissa’s preserving journey didn’t begin with natural sweeteners but rather with cups and cups of granulated sugar, which reliably made the jam set and retain its color. When she realized, however, she didn’t feel good about regularly eating all that sugar, she began experimenting with different sweeteners: honey, coconut sugar, maple, agave, fruit juice concentrates and dried fruits. Yes, she was still using sugar, but it was less refined. She soon discovered that the resulting jams, pickles, and fruit butters, despite their softer set and shorter shelf life, were better: tastier, more nuanced in flavor, and more welcome in her regular diet than the white sugar-heavy preserves she had been making for years. As this is then only apple butter I have ever made, I can’t make any insightful comparison to sugar-sweetened fruit butters, but I can vouch for its deliciousness. And like the apple chutney, from Marisa’s latest book, this recipe will be relied on heavily next fall when we inevitably will return from the orchard with an ambitious haul of apples in tow. Here’s the play-by-play: Gather 3 lbs. apples. Cut them up, through the core and all. Place them in a pot with some dates and water. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Pass them through a foodmill. Season the purée with cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and vinegar. Transfer the mixture to a 9×13-inch pan. Cook for 1.5 to 2 hours. Purée until smooth. Transfer to jars. Process if you wish. 5 from 3 reviews If you’d like more details on sterilizing jars and preparing a water bath for canning, view this post on Food in Jars.
