Making Apple Butter With an Automatic Apple Butter Stirrer

The annual tradition of making and selling apple butter is a Shenandoah Valley institution. Although the process can be laborious, it serves as an occasion for family members to come together, share stories, and welcome autumn with joy.

Great-Aunt Helen Douthit of Stephen City’s Shawquon Ruritan club began making apple butter 50 years ago as a way to supplement her income during the Depression. Later on, she turned it into an annual fundraiser and sold the butter at roadside stands.

Today, the Douthits produce approximately 239 gallons of apple butter annually and sell it throughout Botetourt County. Furthermore, they are renowned for their jams, chutneys and other specialty items.

At the center of this production is Marshall Shiley’s homemade kettletop with electric motor-driven post hole digger transmission, which turns a set of specially designed wooden stirrers fitted to the bottom of the kettle. These scrapers scrape away at any burning spots on the sides while stirring apples until they are cooked through.

He begins by adding some sugar to the kettle before cooking the apple pulp until it turns a deep russet brown color. As the sugar caramelizes and thickens, it creates an irresistibly rich and deep apple butter with an extended shelf life.

Marshall periodically samples the apple butter to ensure it’s not becoming overly sweet. He then adds some cinnamon and stirs until it reaches the desired consistency for his testers.

Unlike many other fruit sauces and preserves, apple juice isn’t strained out during this process, creating a thinner product with greater spreadability. This gives it an extended shelf life compared to other varieties of apple preserves.

Once the product is prepared, it’s poured into a home-made four-gallon jar filler and sealed with its lid. After being transferred to an assembly line of Ruritan members who can manually reseal the jars with sterilized caps, the jars are ready for shipping.

This process typically takes two or three hours and necessitates the assistance of several people; at least 10 are involved each year.

Once the apple butter is ready to be canned, it can be canned in any type of jar; however, the Douthits prefer quarts as they seal completely. Not only will this preserve for an extended period of time, but they can make extra ahead of time so there’s always plenty when they need it.

The family loves to slather it on bread, scrapple and scrambled eggs. They’ll even top cottage cheese with it or bake bar cookies with it for delicious treats!

However, the most critical element in making apple butter is quality of ingredients. The family only utilizes natural components and only select apples from a local orchard for their product.

Once everything is ready, the family hand-dries and packs each jar of apple butter into a box for storage. They’ll sell it at the Stephen City Farmers Market or other outlets around town while also donating part of the proceeds to a local food bank. Everyone involved works together towards this end goal with pride and satisfaction in their product – apple butter!