Apple Butter Day 2025

25°f/-4°C, a few clouds but mostly clear skies. Frosty and hazy.

The breakfast crew: counterclockwise from the bottom: Larry, George, Derek, and Clayton (with the gorgeous curly blond hair!). Aaron and his daughter Michaela arrived around noon. He had just flown home from a job site in Montreal the night before.

I was up at 7:30am yesterday, getting things ready and making eggs, sausage gravy and biscuits for breakfast. The guys arrived around 9 to eat, and were soon outside, getting the fire going, the kettle washed, and the wood split and stacked. Getting the fire going wasn't easy after all the rain we have had recently, but before too long a good fire was blazing and the kettle was on! I didn't get as many photos this year, since we were fewer hands than usual so I was kept very, very busy washing jars, cooking, making coffee, etc. We sure had a pretty day for it though.

It takes about 60 quarts of applesauce to fill our kettle, and between 5 and 6 hours to cook it down to the rich, dark, thick consistency we like. Many hands certainly make the work light, as all those 60 jars needed to be washed up and put away, and then 60 pints washed to be filled with apple butter.  We use a lot of half-pints too; those are the preferred size by almost everyone, because a lot of what we make gets given as gifts.

I made a big pot of vegetable-venison soup and cornbread while the guys got the kettle going. Soup is a good choice for this day, as people could come in and eat whenever they wanted. 

Our crew this year consisted of Larry, myself, sons George, Aaron, and Derek, grandson Clayton and granddaughter Michaela. 

Here is Aaron, taking a turn with the paddle.

Michaela seems to be putting a spell on the pot!

It was a much smaller group than last year, and we were all kept busy, especially when it came time to pull the fire and fill the jars. Here, the apple butter was about 30 minutes from being done. We judge by the color and thickness. A spoonful needs to pile up on a plate to be done. It usually takes 5-6 hours to reach that point, and cooked down to about half its original volume. 

While the others cleaned up the cooking area outside, I quickly made another batch of biscuits so we could taste the fruit of our labors immediately.  Oh so good!

The finished product:

We ended up with 62 pints. Over half left with our helpers, so there is still a lot to store in the cellar. We will give a lot away to friends and family, and my sons know they can always get more if they need it.

So, the tradition, an old Appalachian one actually, continues for another year.  I hope that when we can no longer so it, someone in the family will carry on, cooking down apple butter on a cool, crisp day in autumn. For a look at past years, click this link. I started this blog in 2007, and that year was the first time i posted about it. There have been many more!

Deer hunting season begins this morning. Larry is already out hunting with George and Clayton on a friend's large farm, although with the loss of so many deer to EHD, he will be lucky to even see one, antlers or antler-less. It has certainly been quiet on our ridge; I haven't heard a single shot this morning.