A HARTE APPETITE: FRUIT BUTTER: ALL THE TEMPTATION WITHOUT THE WORRY

Cinnamon and sugar combined with apples are used to make apple butter.

Hundreds of canning jars lined the church wall waiting to be filled with the piping hot apple butter.

Nineteenth century British playwright Douglas Jerrold once remarked, "Honest bread is very well -- it's the butter that makes the temptation." But what if there were a butter you could eat as much of as you wanted without having to worry about fat and cholesterol? Well, there is and it's every bit as tempting as that other kind of butter Jerrold had in mind. It's fruit butter.

Fruit butter is simply fruit that has been stewed with sugar and spices to the point that it is thick enough to spread and its texture is reminiscent of real butter, hence the name. (An Hungarian variation used to fill pastries such as rugelach and typically made from prunes or apricots is called lekvar.) The most common kind of fruit butter, of course, is apple butter, but almost any fruit can be used including peaches, pears, Concord grapes, cranberries, plums, rhubarb, cherries, mangoes, pumpkins and even tomatoes.

And because fruit butter is made entirely of fruit and sugar (typically less sugar than in jams and jellies), it is virtually fat and cholesterol free. You can slather it on fresh baked biscuits or homemade bread almost with impunity. You can mix a little into yogurt or cottage cheese for a low fat treat or spread a bit on a rice cake to counter the impression that you're eating a piece of styrofoam. And certain fruit butters, notably prune, apple, or pumpkin, can be used as a fat replacer in baked goods. For example, try using apple butter in place of all or part of the oil in your favorite carrot cake recipe and the fat grams will plummet while the flavor may actually be elevated. That's because apple butter will complement the typical flavorings in a carrot or spice cake. Pumpkin butter often does too.

Fruit butters are a wonderful way to preserve the summer or fall harvest and to capture the essence of either season in a jar. Besides, making a batch will fill your kitchen with the delightful aromas of the season as well. And fruit butter couldn't be easier to make, especially given labor saving technology in the form of food processors, microwaves, crockpots and modern ovens.

Moreover, compared to jellies, jams and other preserves, the process of making fruit butter is not nearly as exacting. Measurements don't have to be precise. A little more or a little less fruit won't make that much difference. The amount of sugar is not critical and can be adjusted to taste. Cooking times are approximate and, as a general rule, it's hard to overcook fruit butter because the longer you cook it the more concentrated the flavor. And testing the finished product is best done with the eye. No need for a thermometer. Most recipes simply advise cooking the mixture until it's the desired thickness.

All of which is to say that the process of making fruit butter, like most culinary creations, is as much art as science, a conclusion with which the congregation of Evangelical United Church of Christ in Cape Girardeau would readily agree. For nearly a quarter of a century the congregation has been making their specialty, apple butter, around this time of year. And they do it the old fashioned way much as the Shakers, Amish, and Mennonites used to. Their recipe no doubt resembles the one used by Jerome M. Smucker just over a hundred years ago when he founded what is now the nation's leading manufacturer of preserves by selling apple butter door to door.

Each year members of the congregation arise early on a fall weekend morning to prepare the 65 bushels of apples (always Jonathans) they'll need to make the 700 or so quarts of apple butter sold annually by the church as a fund raiser. In what is ultimately a two day process, they first cook the apples, skins and all, in a dozen or so large copper kettles over wood fires for a few hours, then strain the mixture and continue cooking. (Cooking first with the skins and seeds adds extra flavor and color they have found.) After a while they add sugar, well over 600 pounds in all. (Cooking the fruit for a while before adding sugar intensifies the flavor and makes for a creamier texture.) After the sugar and spices are added, the mixture is cooked for several hours until it can pass the saucer test. A dollop of apple butter is placed on a saucer and examined to make sure it is so heavy and thick that no runny liquid seeps from it. All the while members of the congregation take turns stirring the apple butter constantly with specially designed wooden paddles. Constant stirring is necessary to keep the apples from scorching. (One old apple butter making superstition has it that a silver dollar placed in the pot prevents scorching, but the Evangelical congregation relies on old fashioned elbow grease instead.)

The result of all of this labor is some of the finest apple butter you'll ever taste and for the church members a custom that binds together the congregation and unites generations in a shared ritual, in this case one where food rather than religion is at the core. Several members of the church who used to help out in the process when they were children now bring their own kids to the lot behind the church where the apple butter is made to introduce them to the tradition.

And such is the nature of ritual, culinary or otherwise. The following recipes for fruit butter will help you start your own tradition, if you're looking for one. Or, if you're content to let others make fruit butter for you, I've included some recipes that feature fruit butter as a major ingredient, just in case there's any left over after you've eaten your fill as a spread on bread or muffins.

Orange-Pear Butter with Ginger

Lou Seibert Pappas, in her book, "Jams & Jellies," has some of the easiest fruit butter recipes I've ever seen. No need for stirring on a stovetop or even to dig out the old crockpot. Simply put pureed fruit in the oven and bake. This recipe can easily be adapted to other fruits such as apples, plums, and apricots.

Ingredients:

2 pounds Anjou or Bartlett pears

2 tablespoons honey

4 strips orange zest, julienned

1/4 cup thinly sliced crystallized ginger

ground mace to taste

Directions:

Peel, core, and coarsely chop pears and puree in blender or food processor with other ingredients. Place in a glass or ceramic baking dish and bake at 300 degrees, stirring 2 or 3 times, for 1 hour or until reduced by half and a light golden brown. Ladle into hot sterilized jars and seal. Keeps refrigerated up to 2 weeks or frozen up to 1 year.

Mixed Fruit Butter

You could make this fruit butter any time of year because instead of fresh fruit it uses the dried variety. The recipe is from Ladies Home Journal magazine.

Ingredients:

1 package (8 oz.) dried mixed fruit

1 cup apple juice

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

generous pinch nutmeg

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in medium saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook 30 minutes. Let stand, uncovered, 10 minutes. Transfer to blender and puree until smooth. Cool and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

Apple Butter Apple Pie

This recipe, adapted from "The Artful Pie," a gorgeous book by Lisa Cherkasky and Renee Comet, harkens back to 18th and 19th century apple pie recipes which called for the apples to be cooked and pureed before being baked in the pastry shell. Here the addition of apple butter makes a richer, thicker filling. The chili powder is not a mistake but an intriguing way to enhance flavor.

Ingredients:

1 double crust pie shell

7 cups peeled, cored, and sliced tart apples

1/3 cup apple butter

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar

6 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon chili powder

2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Line a 10-inch pie pan with bottom pie crust. Stir apple butter and lemon juice into apples. In separate bowl stir together remaining ingredients except butter. Sprinkle over apples and stir thoroughly. Spoon fruit into pie shell and dot top with butter. Cover pie with top crust, trim and crimp edge, and brush with egg mixture. Cut slits in crust. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 30-35 minutes more or until pie is browned and filling is bubbling. Cool 30 minutes before serving.

Apple Butter Bread Pudding

This recipe from Cece Sullivan writing in the Seattle Times produces a rich tasting dessert that contains only 6 grams of fat per serving. You might try substituting apricot butter or pumpkin butter (or pumpkin puree) for the apple butter.

Ingredients:

4 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup apple butter

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

1 3/4 cup warm milk

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

6 1/2 cups cubed cinnamon-raisin bread

Directions:

Whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, apple butter, and butter until blended. Whisk in warm milk. Stir in raisins, walnuts, and bread. Transfer to greased shallow 2-quart casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until set in center. Cool 1 hour before serving.

Got a recipe you'd like to share with our readers? Are you looking for a recipe for something in particular? Send your recipes and requests to A Harte Appetite, c/o The Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO., 63702-0699 or by e-mail to tharte@semovm.semo.edu.

~Tom Harte is a professor at Southeast Missouri State University and writes a food column every other week for the Southeast Missourian.