My Kitchen Clatter

Real Food - Real Life

  • About Me
  • Classes
    • Upcoming Classes
    • Baking Classes
    • Pressure Cooking Classes
    • Fermentation Classes
    • Canning Classes
    • Kombucha Classes
  • Equipment
    • Nutrimill Plus Grain Mill
    • Nutrimill Classic Grain Mill
    • Nutrimill Harvest Grain Mill
    • Mockmill Grain Mill Attachment for Kitchenaid Mixer
    • Bosch Universal Mixer
    • Ankarsrum Original Assistant
    • Nutrimill Artiste Kitchen Stand Mixer
  • Grains & Supplies
  • Recipes
  • Clatter in the Kitchen

Crock Pot Apple Butter

October 8, 2015 by andrea Leave a Comment

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

You know apple butter is ready when no liquid pools around the edges.

In recent years, I have avoided making apple butter. My last memory of it involved thinking, “Boy, this just tastes like spiced applesauce.” So I didn’t bother with it for a couple of years. And then this year, a friend asked me to make her some and I had an overload of apples. So, I figured I may as well give it another shot. Worst case scenario, I was planning to make my girlfriend take the entire batch of apple butter.

Apple butter is really great on homemade toasted bread or added to plain yogurt or oatmeal. I also love it on my whole grain waffles with toasted pecans and a little whipped cream. A friend told me just today about making cinnamon rolls with apple butter as the filling. I’m going to give that one a shot in the very near future, because it sounds like the perfect fall treat.

So this time around, I did a few things differently. First, I did not puree the butter like a lot of recipes call to do. Instead, I chopped the peeled apples up at the beginning using a food processor – almost to a chunky applesauce consistency, but not quite. If you don’t have a food processor, you can just put the quartered apples into the crock pot and use an immersion blender on them once they are soft and mushy. Or just run it through a blender or food mill and you’ll end up with a smoother consistency.

I also played with the liquid on this recipe. Instead of using water as the liquid, I made one batch using apple cider and a second batch using hard apple cider. Honestly – they really didn’t taste much different. I was honestly hoping that the trendy hard apple cider version would be amazingly better than the old fashioned version, but not so much. But either one of them provides a little more flavor than using plain old water.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Crock Pot Apple Butter = almost done.

I did this recipe in the crock pot. I really love this approach. It’s pretty hands off. You can stir it periodically, but really, you just let it do it’s job until the end when you jar and can it. The main trick with the crock pot approach is to leave your wooden spoon on the edge of the crock with the lid on so that the lid is cracked open for most of the cooking time.

You’ll know that the apple butter is done when the liquid is mostly gone. You should take a little bit and put it on a spoon or plate – let it cool a couple minutes and check to see if any liquid pools at the edges of the butter. Once there is no liquid, then the butter is done.

Enjoy!

 

Print
Crock Pot Apple Butter
Author: Andrea
Prep time:  40 mins
Cook time:  12 hours
Total time:  12 hours 40 mins
Serves: 8 half pints
 
Because this cooks low and slow, this is a great recipe to start at night and finish the next morning. Your home will smell wonderful while you sleep.
Ingredients
  • 5 pounds of peeled, cored and quartered apples
  • 2 cups of apple cider, either hard or not
  • 3 cups of sugar - white or brown is fine
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoons ground cloves
Instructions
  1. Using a food processor, chop the apples into small pieces, almost pureed
  2. Add all ingredients to the crock pot and stir.
  3. Cover crock pot and cook on high for one hour.
  4. Turn crock pot to low and crack the lid with a wooden spoon to keep the lid slightly open. Cook on low for 8-11 hours. Stir occasionally, more towards the end.
  5. Once the butter has thickened, test it for consistency. Place a small mound on a spoon and let it cool for a couple minutes. If, after two minutes, no liquid has escaped the edges, the butter is done.
  6. The butter can be frozen in jars - leave enough space for expansion. Or it can be processed in a boiling water bath - leave ¼ inch headspace and process for 10 minutes.
3.3.3077

 

Filed Under: recipes Tagged With: apple, apple butter, canning, preserves

Spicy Yellow Tomato Jam

August 29, 2015 by andrea 5 Comments

Yellow Tomatos

I find that people often give me a second look when I talk about tomato jam. Not many people have heard of it, but it is definitely a jam worth the effort. I think of it as a grown up jam – I don’t share it with the kids – it’s too good for them. They won’t fully appreciate it, so I save the strawberry and raspberries for them. I’ve had more than a few people ask for the recipe, so here you go!

When picking your tomatoes, I recommend you find a nice flavorful heirloom variety from the farmer’s market or your own garden. Don’t even bother with the watery tasteless store bought imitations from the grocery store. My absolute favorite tomatoes to use are yellow and orange varieties. I find them fun to work with and they typically have a less acidic, more mellow, sweeter flavor.

The time it takes for this recipe will vary greatly depending on several factors – your tomatoes’ water content, the size of your simmering pot, whether it’s a full moon. Get the idea? Allow lots of time for this one. I’ve let some batches simmer for four or more hours until they got nice and thick like I wanted. Whatever you do, don’t try to double this recipe. You will be simmering forever. Trust me on this.

As far as ideas for using this jam – once you taste it, you’ll come up with endless ideas on your own. But here are some starters. Try it on cream cheese or goat cheese with crackers. It is wonderful with scrambled eggs – like a fancy katsup. It also makes a great sandwich spread with ham or turkey.

Okay! Now get simmering!

5.0 from 3 reviews
Print
Spicy Yellow Tomato Jam
Author: Andrea
Prep time:  15 mins
Cook time:  4 hours
Total time:  4 hours 15 mins
Serves: 4 pints
 
Ingredients
  • 5 lbs tomatoes
  • 3 cups sugar or 2½ cups of honey
  • ½ cup lime juice
  • 1 T freshly grated ginger
  • 1 T cinnamon
  • ½ t ground cloves
  • 1 T salt
  • 1-2 T red pepper flakes - adjust to your taste
Instructions
  1. Core and finely chop the tomatoes. Save yourself some time and use the food processor. I don't skin them or deseed them - if you chop the tomatoes fine enough you won't notice the skins, plus they help thicken the jam.
  2. Add all ingredients to a large stainless steel pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and keep a simmer. Simmer for 2-4 hours until the jam is thick. The jam should separate when you stir the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
  3. Fill hot pint or half pint jars with jam, allowing ¼ inch head space.
  4. Wipe jar rims and place hot lids on jars.
  5. Process in a water bath canner with water at least one inch over tops of jars for 20 minutes.
  6. Remove jars from canner and allow to cool completely (at least 12 hours) before checking seals.
  7. Makes 2-4 pints (4-8 half pints) - depending on tomato type.
3.2.2929

 

Filed Under: recipes Tagged With: canning, jam, preserving, tomatoes

Strawberry Margarita Jam Recipe

June 20, 2015 by andrea Leave a Comment

This recipe for strawberry margarita jam is perfect for when you are bored of making strawberry jam, or when you simply need a change of pace from the ordinary. Give it a try, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Tequila and Lime

Tequila and Lime

I always love to make special jams, but then I sometimes find my self wondering what to do with jam that doesn’t really belong on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. What? No tequila on a PB&J? However, I am not opposed to having this on an English muffin for breakfast. Other ideas to use this jam as a topping for a lemon tart or bar, swirling into a cheesecake or as a cheesecake topping. I’m thinking a key lime cheesecake would be especially fun. Or using it as a filling with a little lemon curd in teeny tiny little tarts. If you have any other suggestions, please leave them in the comments.

When I’m making unique jams, I like to can them in cute little jars and then I plan to gift several of them at the holidays or as gifts throughout the year. You probably won’t want four or five jars of this in your pantry. Or, then again, maybe you will. It’s that good.

When I was making this batch, the tequila smelled a little strong, but it mellowed out nicely in the final product. Do not be afraid! I can only imagine that the flavor will only get better as the jam ages a couple of weeks. Make sure to sample your tequila as you are cooking, otherwise what’s the point of cooking with liquor?

Lime Zest

Lime Zest

I chopped my lime zest into teeny tiny pieces so that it disappeared into the jam. You can barely tell it’s in the end product. That’s a good goal to aim for – no one wants tiny bits of lime zest in their teeth. Zest your limes (it took me three limes) before you juice them.

This recipe uses Ponoma Pectin to set the jam. This pectin allows me to use a lot less sugar than regular pectin and you don’t need to cook the strawberries for very long. If you haven’t used this type of pectin before, I recommend checking out their product. The low sugar and short cooking time allow the flavor of the strawberries and lime to shine through the final product. It really does taste like a strawberry margarita.

Print
Strawberry Margarita Jam Recipe
Author: Andrea
Recipe type: Jam
 
This Strawberry Margarita Jam is a great addition to your pantry. Try it with cheesecake or anything involving lemon curd.
Ingredients
  • 3 cups of crushed strawberries
  • ⅓ cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
  • ½ cup of tequila
  • ¼ cup orange liqueur
  • 1 T lime peel
  • 2 t calcium water (from Ponoma's package)
  • 1 cup honey
  • 2 t Ponoma's pectin
Instructions
  1. Combine room temperature honey and pectin in a small bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.
  2. Combine strawberries, lime juice, tequila, orange liqueur, lime peel and calcium water in large saucepan, jam pot, or stock pot. Bring to roiling boil, stirring constantly.
  3. Add honey and pectin to strawberry mixture. Bring back to boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute or until honey is completely dissolved. Remove from heat.
  4. Fill hot jam jars with ¼ inch headspace.
  5. Clean rims and place lids on jars.
  6. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
  7. Allow jars to cool completely before checking seals and storing.
3.2.2929

 

Filed Under: recipes Tagged With: canning, jam, lime, margarita, strawberry, tequila

Posts

  • Clatter in the Kitchen
  • recipes
  • Uncategorized

Recent Comments

  • JESSE on How to Grind Cardamom from Pods
  • andrea on Spicy Yellow Tomato Jam
  • andrea on Sourdough Beer Pizza Crust
  • andrea on Whole Wheat Bread – Large Batch
  • andrea on How to Grind Cardamom from Pods
  • Facebook

Join My Newsleter

Copyright © 2021 · by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress