Fill Your Kitchen with the Smell of Apple Butter

Ive spent the past few weeks in rural Japan visiting family, and while the diet there is pretty unusual by US standards, fall is apple season and exotic varieties of fresh picked apples line the produce markets across the country. While taking a walk one day, I came across a farm stand that had piles of freshly picked produce at prices that made me wonder how these guys made a living. There were bins full of pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and mandarins, but what really drew me in was a pile of apples that filled the air with a sweet aroma that smelled like a scratch and sniff sticker. I couldnt read the sign and its not a variety of apple Im familiar with, but the intense fragrance was intoxicating and I soon found myself walking home with a bag of apples. On my way home, I found a store selling locally produced brown sugar and knew before I got home that I wanted to make apple butter. With just a few ingredients thrown into a pot, the reducing apples filled the house with an irresistible aroma. It took a lot of self-restraint to keep myself from eating this straight out of the pot with a spoon. Slathered on a crusty slice of toast its like eating an apple pie. While you probably wont find this particular variety at your local farm stand, Honey Crisps and Fuji apples work great because they have a strong apple flavor and are naturally sweet. They also tend to hold up better to cooking than apples such as Golden Delicious (which turn to mush when cooked). The sweetness of your apples (and your personal preferences) will dictate how much sugar you need to add, so taste your apples before adding the sugar. You can always start out at the low end and add more sugar as the apples cook down if you don't think they're sweet enough. I like making my apple butter a little chunky as it goes great on everything from latkes to pork chops to a crusty slice of toast, but if you like a creamy smooth apple, butter, just run the mixture through a food processor.

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Marc Matsumoto is a culinary consultant and recipe repairman who shares his passion for good food through his website norecipes.com. For Marc, food is a life long journey of exploration, discovery and experimentation and he shares his escapades through his blog in the hopes that he inspires others to find their own culinary adventures. Marcs been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, and has made multiple appearances on NPR and the Food Network.