Apple Butter

Apple butter is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by long, slow cooking of apples with cider or water to a point where the sugar in the apples caramelizes, turning the apple butter a deep brown. The concentration of sugar gives apple butter a much longer shelf life as a preserve than apple sauce.

Theres a german festhall owned by a commune near me, that cooks homemade apple butter every year and offers it with their breakfast, Its really good.
 
Apple butter is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce. It was created as a way to preserve apples.

The Germans developed it during the Middle Ages.

Pennsylvania has a high percentage of residents descended from German immigrants. Large numbers of Germans settled in Central PA during the 1700’s and 1800’s. Also, PA has a lot of orchards.

I live in Pennsylvania, and I love to eat homemade bread covered in apple butter. A lot of farmers markets sell it here.
 
Adams County, Pennsylvania, where Gettysburg is the county seat, is probably the apple capital of the state. With such an abundance of apples, apple butter is very popular locally. One way it has been traditionally enjoyed by the German population is on bread with schmierkase, a soft cottage-style cheese. Years ago, a Gettysburg restaurant called the Dutch Cupboard was known for its authentic Pennsylvania Dutch cooking and served very tasty schmierkase and apple butter on freshly baked bread.
 
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We get it here in the good ole Pennsylvania Dutch Country. There’s a restaurant over in St. Thomas that makes their own and with every meal when they bring the bread, each patron gets a container of apple butter to spread on their bread. We occasionally buy a jar at a country farm market. I like it but I usually don’t keep it on hand as much as homemade jams and preserves.
 
Little Buffalo State Park, which is about 50 miles north of Gettysburg, has an Apple Butter Festival each fall. My parents took me to it years ago, when we lived in Central PA and my dad worked at Little Buffalo.

This post caused me to wonder whether one of the scriptwriters for the Gettysburg movie ate apple butter when he / she visited the area, so he / she decided to write it into the script.
 
The Germans developed it during the Middle Ages.

I wonder is it still popular in Germany itself , I’ve been several times to different regions and never noticed it.

Well, as a German I may say that at least in northern Germany it is unknown. Neither the name, that would be "Apfelbutter", not the process itself. Neither have I seen it in any supermarket or on any breakfast buffet all over Germany. My Grandma used to make "Apfelgelee", apple jelly, but that was made from apple juice and lots of sugar, a preserve to put on toast for breakfast. Yummy!
@GELongstreet and @luinrina , have you ever heard of apple butter in your regions of Germany?

Edit: maybe it is what we call "Apfelkraut" - I have seen that in Whole Foods stores, but never had it.
Second edit: I have just followed the link @treebie2000 provided - it is indeed Apfelkraut. How very interesting! Apfelkraut is not common here in Northern Germany, but in the Rhine region, so that might explain it. Now that I know that, I will buy and try it. I love
sugar beet molasses, so that might be something I will like also. Thank you!!

I'm glad you asked, @KianGaf because I noticed the word also in Major Taylor's morning greeting, when he told General Lee what's for breakfast, but Lee did not have appetite...
 
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The Amish carry on the apple butter tradition by me in Geauga County including an apple butter festival
Twelve largest Amish settlements, 2017
Settlement State Estimated population
Lancaster County area Pennsylvania36,920
Holmes County area Ohio35,130
Elkhart/LaGrange area Indiana24,205
Geauga County area Ohio18,650
https://www.destinationgeauga.com/events/apple-butter-festival/
 
We been to Elkhart/LaGrange area several time. So much to see in that area. Know there is Amish community in Western Kentucky. It is near Fairview where Jefferson Davis birthplace located.

One thing I recently learned there are Amish in Florida. They are located in Pinecraft, a neighborhood of Sarasota.

See:

http://amishamerica.com/florida-amish/
 
Apple butter is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce. It was created as a way to preserve apples.

The Germans developed it during the Middle Ages.

Pennsylvania has a high percentage of residents descended from German immigrants. Large numbers of Germans settled in Central PA during the 1700’s and 1800’s. Also, PA has a lot of orchards.

I live in Pennsylvania, and I love to eat homemade bread covered in apple butter. A lot of farmers markets sell it here.
The high concentration of Germans living in Central Pennsylvania are also a product of the American Revolution. The Hessian troops who fought for the British ultimately became American Allies and some decided to stay in the colonies after the war; a lot of them immigrating to Central Pennsylvania especially upper Dauphin County. David.
 
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