When you just have a few apples the kids won’t eat, bruised peaches, or too many tomatoes, canning your food for later, is much easier than you imagined, even if you only have a few! We made Peach BBQ sauce, salsa, and this amazing homemade maple apple butter this weekend to save our produce, and we didn’t need a whole bushel of produce to do it.
Prepare a boiling water bath, 2 half pint/ 250 ml jars and 1 quarter pint/ 125 ml jar. Place 3 lids in a small sauce pan of water and bring to a gentle simmer.
Wash, core, and quarter the apples. Place the apples and 2 tablespoons of water in a medium saucepan. Set the pan over medium-low heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the fruit is quite tender.
Scrape the softened apples into the carafe of a blender and puree until the skins disappear and the flesh is quite smooth. Return the puree to the saucepan and place over low heat.
Cook, stirring regularly for 20-30 minutes, until the apple puree has thickened a great deal and sits up tall in the bowl of a spoon. If it's not done, it will run to the edges of the spoon and will be no higher than the rim.
Add the maple syrup, spices, and lemon juice. Taste and adjust the sweet and tart levels.
Remove the butter from the heat and funnel into the prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch/ 12 mm of head space. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.