Apple Butter Amateur

Cover Photo: ‘Making Apple Butter the Old Fashioned Way, Webster Co., WV’, 1964 Photograph (WV History OnView 2024).

With fall beginning this week, it felt appropriate to make a little something that I associate with West Virginia in the fall time: Apple Butter. While my MomMom’s fridge stores the sweet, spicy substance year-round, it always tastes better in the fall. However, apple butter is not just a delicious spread for toast and desserts, it is a symbol of Appalachian and American cultural traditions. In the fall, the local stores I’ve visited across the United States sell jars of apple butter, from Indiana to Pennsylvania to Washington State to right here in West Virginia. In entering my new AmeriCorps role at Augusta Heritage Center, I got to thinking about what the preservation of heritage really means. To me, it means preserving the traditional ways of making things yet being able to progress into the modern world. With this in mind, I set out to maintain the traditional meaning of apple butter, preparing for fall and community-making, while keeping the process modern and easy to accomplish by myself. This is my first foray into making apple butter, so I would love to hear your stories on what apple butter means to you, or even your family recipes! 

Apple Butter History

Making Apple Butter, Oil on Cardboard, 1958, Grandma Moses (Art Institute Chicago 2024).

The earliest records of apple butter are from the Middle Ages at monasteries in Belgium and the Netherlands (Wikipedia 2024). Across Europe and America, communities have come together for centuries to turn apples into a sweet paste by boiling it down for hours in a copper kettle over the fire. Apple butter serves two important functions for the communities that make it: supplying stable food for the winter and community bonding. “Apple butter originated as a way to store apples without refrigeration, before canning was available” (naramata-blend 2016). It was a good source of food during hard winters and often symbolized the change of weather from summer into winter. However, the practical and delicious function of apple butter was only one of the appeals to those who made it. The traditional way of making apple butter often took an entire day and multiple people, who took turns peeling, stirring, and watching the apple butter as it cooked.  “Apple butter ‘frolics’ were major social events. In spite of the chores involved, the assemblage had relatively little to do; so they told stories, gossiped, sang, and otherwise enjoyed fellowship. Courting couples were given special attention, often given the job of stirring.” (NC Historic Sites 2024). There was a rhyme that told stirrers how to do so properly:

“Twice around the side

And once down the middle

That’s the way to stir

The apple-butter kittle”

(NC Historical Site  2024).

Apple Butter Festival in Berkeley Springs, WV (Morgan Messenger 2022).

Apple butter allowed for friendships to form over hours of stirring, courting couples were able to spend time stirring together, and the process connected communities through the sharing of work and food. “Even with the right equipment, however, you may want to consider the 1881 cautionary tale … [which] warns you to carefully choose your apple butter making friends because you may, otherwise, end up stirring by yourself at midnight.” (Wisconsin Historical Society 2020). Another humorous belief: “It was said that a young woman who splashed the butter when she stirred the kettle would make a poor housewife” (NC Historical Sites 2024). These statements are funny, but the actual process of apple butter was far more meaningful than myths about becoming a bad housewife or being left alone to stir all night. It brought communities together before the harsh winter to share stories and bond through time and work. Apple butter is clearly treasured across the United States, but festivals like the Apple Butter Festival in Berkeley Springs, WV show how important it is to Appalachia. In this spirit, I sought out a way to make apple butter and share it with my WV community in a way that aligned with the community-making ways of the past.

Making the Apple Butter Myself

Apples from my friend Maddi.

While many of the more historically accurate recipes involve hours of labor over a fire, I opted for a more modern, small-kitchen-friendly version since I don’t have a wealth of time or willing victims to force into making apple butter. I used Mel Lockcuff’s “Old-Fashioned” stovetop recipe, which can be found online. I used a variety of locally sourced types of apples. Many were picked right here in Elkins, WV thanks to the kindness of The Kump House and their multitude of apple trees. I had asked around for almost a week about any apples in the area and finally got an answer from my fellow AmeriCorps members who live in the Kump House. After a group hike last Sunday, we all picked apples and chucked them into my backpack. It became a fun game when we began to throw bad ones at the taller trees to knock ripe ones down from the top. My friend Maddi also provided some, since she coincidentally went apple picking in Pocahontas County the same day. Through the simple process of gathering apples, it is easy to see how making apple butter formed new bonds within communities. I had to speak to multiple people and rely on acts of kindness in order to gain the supplies for the apple butter. However, gathering the apples is only the first step in this lengthy, yet delicious process. 

Apple Butter Prep

Mel’s recipe calls for 4 pounds of apples, but I somehow ended up with twice that amount due to the kindness of my community. I used 8 pounds of apples and simply doubled the recipe, which miraculously fit in my stockpot. Here are the ingredients I used:

• 8 pounds apples 
• ½ cup molasses
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Apples soaking in a water and vinegar mixture.

Peeling the Apples

The hardest part of the semi-traditional apple butter process is, in my opinion, peeling and coring the apples. Begin by soaking your apples in a mixture of water and vinegar for ten minutes, then peel/core the apples and get rid of any worm holes or bruises. To say I came out of this process with a few scratches would be an understatement, I’d prefer the term battle scars. I would highly recommend an apple peeling machine if you were to copy this process at home, as I was stuck in apple peel limbo for a good hour at least. Once done peeling, pile the sliced apples into your stockpot. 

Peeled apples.

Cooking the Apple Butter

Following Mel’s recipe, I poured the rest of the ingredients into the stock pot and mixed well. I then put the stove on medium heat and waited for the mixture to boil. This process took longer than I expected due to the large amount of apples in the pot. After it finally came to a boil, I then lowered the heat and put the lid on the pot to wait until the apples were tender. This whole cooking process took about an hour and a half, although I still feel lucky because the traditional process takes an entire day!

Apples at the beginning of cooking (plus green beans in the back).

Cooked down apples ready to be blended.

Blending the Apple Butter

Once the apples were tender and slightly cooled, I transferred them in batches to a food processor (the only blender-ish thing I own). After blending, the apple and molasses mixture turned into a surprisingly thick paste that I transferred to a bowl to cool. 

Apples waiting to be blended.

Blended apple butter.

Canning the Apple Butter

After the finished apple butter was completely cooled, I spooned them into small Ball jars for sharing with friends. I opted not to go through with the full canning process, since the jar amount was so small, and I planned on eating it immediately. If you do not freeze or can the apple butter, it is typically safe to eat for up to a month, according to most websites. 

Jars ready to be shared!

Sharing the Apple Butter

While I made the apple butter solo, the community-making aspects I strived for were found in both the harvesting of apples and the sharing of the final product. I wrote the names of friends, fellow AmeriCorps members, and coworkers on the lid of each jar. I then personally delivered the jars across Elkins. This solidified my apple butter process as a symbol of friendship and giving before the approaching winter. While most of us are lucky enough these days to not worry about having food to make it through the winter, the apple butter is still a symbol of the approaching colder months and a warm, friendly comfort as the leaves begin to turn. I had so much fun researching and making apple butter, I can only hope this blog inspires you to make some apple butter for your own community! As my first try at apple butter from an online recipe, I think the result was delicious, but I’d love to know what your apple butter recipes, traditions, and stories are! Please let me know if there is anything you do differently, or any other WV traditions you’d like to see. This apple butter post is only the first of several this fall as I keep up with fall and winter traditional practices on the blog. The Augusta Heritage Center’s Lift Your Voice choir will be performing a Wassail in the coming months as well! (a traditional English folk custom that involves baking apple cakes, caroling, and blessing an apple tree for a good harvest the next fall). The choir and others in the Elkins community will be gathering to bless apple trees like the ones I took from to make apple butter, making a full circle, in a way. Stay tuned for the next installments about Wassailing and other traditions!

Works Cited

Recipe Website: https://adventuresofmel.com/stovetop-apple-butter/#wprm-recipe-container-43469

Art Institute Chicago 2024. ‘Making Apple Butter’ by Grandma Moses, Available on-line (artic.edu/artworks/51509/making-apple-butter, Accessed 24 Sept., 2024).

Lockcuff, M. 2023. ‘Easy Stovetop Apple Butter Recipe the Old Fashioned Way’, Adventures of Mel, Available on-line (adventuresofmel.com/stovetop-apple-butter/#wprm-recipe-container-43469, Accessed 23 Sept., 2024).

Morgan Messenger 2022. ‘47th Apple Butter Festival returns with new attractions’, The Morgan Messenger, Available on-line (morganmessenger.com/2022/10/04/47th-apple-butter-festival-returns-with-new-attractions/, Accessed 24 Sept, 2024).

Naramata-blend 2016. ‘Concentrated appleness and soul-soothing aromatic cinnamon cloves and vanilla bean… What is this sorcery? Apple butter and my new mission to make the lost art of making it found’, naramata-blend blog, Available on-line (naramata-blend.com/2016/09/26/concentrated-appleness-and-soul-soothing-aromatic-cinnamon-cloves-and-vanilla-beanwhat-is-this-sorcery-apple-butter-and-my-new-mission-to-make-the-lost-art-of-making-it-found/, Accessed 24 Sept., 2024).

North Carolina Historic Sites 2024. ‘Apple Butter’, North Carolina Historical Sites: Uses of Apples, Available on-line (historicsites.nc.gov/all-sites/horne-creek-farm/southern-heritage-apple-orchard/apples/uses-apples/apple-butter, Accessed 24 Sept., 2024).

Sauceman 2021. ‘Apple butter builds community in Appalachia’, Johnston City Press, Available on-line (johnsoncitypress.com/living/features/apple-butter-builds-community-in-appalachia/article_06cd1626-1443-11ec-b33c-a79df3e7bbe6.html, Accessed 24 Sept., 2024).

Wikipedia 2024. ‘Apple butter’, Available on-line (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_butter, Accessed 24 Sept., 2024).

Wisconsin Historical Society 2020. ‘Cooking Up History: Apple Butter (1918)’, W History, Available on-line (wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS16470#:~:text=As%20it%20is%20a%20simple,want%20to%20make%20your%20own., Accessed 24 Sept., 2024)..

WV History OnView 2024. ‘Making Apple Butter the Old Fasioned Way, Webster County, W. Va.’, WVU: West Virginia History OnView, Available on-line (wvhistoryonview.org/catalog/015381, Accessed 24 Sept., 2024).

Madeline Ricks is an AmeriCorps member with the Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area serving at Augusta. She is using her year of service to continue the mission of digitizing Augusta’s large archive, as well as adding to the collection through new recordings and blog posts about Augusta happenings and stories of West Virginia culture. While she was born in Georgia, raised in both Indiana and Montana, and has traveled around the world, she has a special place in her heart for West Virginia, as her mother’s side of the family still lives outside of Charleston. She received her BA in English Literature and a minor in Italian Studies from Gonzaga University and recently finished a Master of Research in Social Anthropology from the University of St Andrews in Scotland. She hopes to leave a lasting, positive impact on the organization and community during her short time at Augusta.