One of our favorite fall activities here on the farm is making some of the best traditional food around. At Harvest Festival, along with the craft demonstrations and games, we prepare heritage recipes for friends and family alike. For this blog post, I am taking a closer look at the processes involved in some of these classic dishes.
Apple butter has everything to do with apples and nothing to do with butter at all. Apple butter is similar to apple sauce but it is cooked for a long time, usually with apple cider. The apples caramelize causing the final product to take on a dark brown color. It has a creamy texture reminiscent of butter or jam and is often eaten like them, spread over toasted bread.
At Quiet Valley, we work hard to make apple butter in a traditional manner. Days leading up to our Harvest Festival, we have an apple party. All the apple dishes for the whole event are prepared including apple butter and apple pies. The apples are peeled, cored, and cut into disks. We use a special copper lined pot to cook the apple butter. The day before we start making apple butter, we fill it about halfway with apple cider and start it boiling. Once it has reduced by about half, the cored apples are added until it’s full. All day, we keep the fire burning and stir the pot full of apples. Many visitors pitch in to help as well!
Historically, this tradition of coming together to create seasonal foods served as a great way to strengthen the community. It provided a great way to meet friends, find someone to marry, and even make business arrangements. After about 8 hours, the apple butter is ready for canning so that its deliciousness can be preserved. We sell these wonderful jars at Harvest Festival and if you are lucky enough, during Old Time Christmas too!
Food is important because it brings together a sense of community. Food builds connections across time, language barriers, and gender. Next time you pass a plate, think about passing it to someone completely new. We also make scrapple and sauerkraut too!