My accomplishments as far as canning are pretty limited -- basically my repertoire is salsa, marinara sauce, bread & butter pickles, and chicken stock. (I tried dill pickles and they were a major flop.) So this year when some family visited an apple orchard, I put in my order for as many as they could carry so I could try my hand at apple butter. But I didn't want to stir a pot for hours so found a slow cooker recipe online. And was it ever super easy and delicious.
First of all, despite the fact that I'm a gadget freak, I'd never bought one of the suction-type apple corer/slicer/peeler crank thingees. I'd seen it in the KAF catalog for ages but it just seemed like too much of a one-trick tool, even for me. But when W-S had a sale and I could get it for $23, I figured I'd give it a whirl and take it back if I didn't like it. All I can say is whoa! That thing is flat-out amazing. My daughter peeled, cored, and sliced about 20 pounds of apples in amazing time.
The other thing I did was cook it longer than the recipe called for, and one trick I read online was to use long skewers to slightly lift the lid off the slow cooker, so it would thicken. Sure enough, after the initial cooking and puree with a stick blender, I did that and in a few hours it was the perfect consistency.
I was planning on giving some as Christmas gifts but I'm thinking hoarding it is a better option.
Emilie