I've started going to the Winter Farmers Market in Vancouver. It is held in the parking lot of Nat Bailey Stadium, every Saturday. Not only is it a wonderful event that helps me support local farmers, supplies me with amazing produce and various goods, and helps to create a sense of community, I grew up right down the street. It's nice to wander the old neighbourhood and see how much has changed.
I'm planning on taking pictures next time to post on here.
This time of year there is an amazing selection of apples to be had.
So I decided to make some apple butter, I can never eat them all in time.
I also found this amazing Raspberry Honey, from the Fraser Valley, I believe the company is called "Jane's Bee's", I will double check. I wanted to do something nice with it.
I found the original recipe at www.bernardin.ca. I altered it only slightly.
You can find reliable water canning methods there.
Apple Butter
Yeild: 6 x 250ml jars
5 2.3 Kg (5 Lbs.) apples (I used a mix of Gala, Spartan, and MacIntosh)
1 cups (500ml) apple juice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup (250ml) liquid honey (I used Raspberry Honey)
1) First step is to make apple sauce. Wash, core, and coarsely chop the apples. Bring to a boil in a heavy bottomed pot with the apple juice. Cook for about 20 minutes, mashing apples as they cook. Puree in a food processor.
2)Measure out 7 and 1/2 cups (1875 ml) of apple sauce, place back into pot with spices. Simmer for 30 minutes. BE CAREFUL when stirring! It will spit all over the place.
3)While this is cooking prepare your canner, jars, lids, etc according to usual water canning methods.
4)Add honey, simmer for another 30-60 minutes, butter will be done when a dark golden colour and it mounds up on a spoon, or when desired consistency is reached.
5)Ladle into jars and process according to usual water canning methods.
