The Amish Cook: Gloria’s Apple Butter

THE AMISH COOK
BY GLORIA YODER
Good morning from the Yoder’s home to yours.
It’s Friday morning, the children are all sound asleep so I’m eager to
seize these moments to fill you in on apple sauce day with grandpas.
Yesterday excitement reigned high as Grandma and Grandpa made the trip
from Danville Ohio to be spend time with their two sons and their
families for a week. By the way, if you have the opportunity of being a
grandparent, I want to encourage you as to what a blessing a grandparent
can be. Even if our children have one set grandparents living out of
state, they have a very special part in each of the children’s lives.
Our children love talking with Dawdys (Dutch word for Grandpas) on the
phone. Another dimension that is quite special to us is just to know
that daily we are in their prayers.

Yesterday both Grandma and Grandpa helped the children and I make chunky
applesauce. Daniel helped by taking care of the children including one
little one that had a fever. The children relished the opportunity to
work with Dawdys. I smiled as I watched Julia and Dawdy race. Dawdy put
apples through our little hand crank apple peeler and Julia put the
cores through the juicer. The four quarts thick juice we got from the
cores is being turned into apple butter. As I write I can smell it as it
is slowly baking in the oven.
I was pleased with another 30 quarts chunky apple sauce to add to the 75
quarts regular apple sauce we did a few weeks ago. Our children like to
eat apple sauce along side almost any hot dish. We certainly should have
more than enough for the following year. While most of the applesauce
was canned I also put some in large containers and stuck it in the
freezer to serve when we have church or perhaps for the adoption party.
Today the children will help me turn off the rings and mark all the lids
with a 19 which stands for 2019. Since I started writing the dates my
jars some years ago I’ve really come to like it, that way if we do have
any leftover from one year to the next I know exactly what was canned
which year. Since we reuse our flats occasionally I still come across
some that Julia ‘helped’ me write when she was only three or four years
old. Now Austin is old enough that he too, wants to help Julia write the
dates in the lids. Now the best part of all is left- putting the jars on
the shelves in the can room, thanking God for food for the family.
So we have two more days left with Grandma. I don’t have definite plans
for today, although I do have a large basket full of butternut squash
that are waiting to be cut, (peeled, cooked, and canned. We will then
use it as a substitute for pumpkin.  (Should this paragraph be omitted??)
Okay, now for a good old fashioned apple butter recipe.