Afternoon Tea The Fruity Cook: There IS Butter in my Apple and Gooseberry Butter

Friday, August 03, 2007

There IS Butter in my Apple and Gooseberry Butter

Reading nineteenth century novels has left me with the belief that fruit butters were a
major industry and essential for afternoon teas. Since there is no real dairy butter
in the average Apple Butter recipe, I was interested to come across a recipe today which
encouraged the daring cook to add a dollop (the instruction is unscientifically imprecise)
of real butter to Gooseberry and Apple Jam,
just towards the end of boiling.

The result was encouraging.

A gentle fragrance filled the
kitchen, as the fruit seemed to become more flavoursome.
The end result is a bit cloudy, but
incredibly soft and spreadable.

For good measure, I put a dessert spoonful of Triple Sec
onto the top of each filled jar, just before sealing.

The gentle antiseptic effect of alcohol should prevent mould.

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