Applesauce and Applebutter

Pine Mountain

Hello again from Pine Mountain. It is the third week of January. It is sunny but there is still snow on the ground from the storm two weeks ago. Here on the mountain part of our land, about ten acres is an apple orchard. We grow Jonathan, Red Delicious, Winesap, Rome Beauty, and McIntosh.

Apple harvest

We start harvesting in mid September and pick the last of the apples during the first week of November. We receive $8 to $10 a bushel at the local farmers market. we also have a cider press and make fresh squeezed cider. We have a 20 foot/6 meter by 20 foot/6 meter refrigerated cold room in the basement of the barn that we keep at 38 F/3 C. We store about 40 to 45 bushels of apples from September to March. We sort apples every two weeks and any apples that are getting soft we gather and make apple sauce out of them.

Apple Sauce

Making apple sauce is time consuming but well worth the effort. We bring the apples that we sorted out to the house wash them and cut out any really bad spots. We put them in our 40 quart/ 38 liter pot and cook them until they are tender. We then put them through our Victorio strainer and turn the handle to remove the skin, core, and seeds. We put the mash back in the pot add cinnamon and some secret spices and cook it until it is ready to put in jars. We use quart mason jars that have been sterilizing in another pot. We fill the jars and put 7 Quarts at a time in the pot making sure the jars are covered with water. We boil them 30 minutes more to seal them and then we let them cool. After they have cooled we check to make sure they have sealed and store them on shelves in the pantry. Shelf life is 18 months but we use them in 6 months.

Apple Butter

When the apple sauce has been on the shelf 6 months we turn it into apple butter. We combine the 6 month old apple sauce with fresh pressed apple cider from our apple press in our big 40 gallon/152 liter cast iron pot. We add some secret spices and cook it over an open fire for 7 to 8 hours stirring it constantly with a big wooden paddle that looks like it belongs on a boat. After we taste test it , we can it and label it. The local store and restaurant buy it for $5 a jar. We make apple butter about 3 times a year. We make it in September, November, and January. Each time we make apple butter we also press some apple cider on our press in the barn.

Pine Mountain Evening

It has been a long day and I am ready to relax in my easy chair by the fireplace. First I make a pot of African cinnamon coffee available at http://www.coffeefool.com/. After a long day of making applesauce and apple butter it is just the right beverage to relax with by the fire in the fireplace. I feed Squeekers our African Grey parrot some apple chips and peanuts as he sits on his perch by the fire. I sit in my easy chair and enjoy the fire, the African Cinnamon coffee, and my discover magazine. Soon it is time for bed. I put Sqeekers in his cage and head to bed. Good night from Pine Mountain.