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MAKING APPLEBUTTERMaking apple butter is a three-day job: a day to boil down 50 gallons of cider to about 10 gallons of condensed cider, a day to peel and schnitz 15 bushels of apples, and a day to cook the mixture. Two batches are made: one before the Fest, which is then pressure-canned and ready for sale, and a smaller batch during the Fest, which is put up in jars that will require refrigeration.
Two weeks prior to the Fest, volunteers gather at the Kryder Farm near McClure to stir up four kettles of applebutter at what has become known as “the Big Stir”. The remaining three kettles of applebutter are made and canned the day of the Fest." Historically, entire communities of families and neighbors, young and old, came together in the fall to preserve part of the apple crop by making apple butter. This tradition continues at our Fest, where copper kettles are set up over log fires in Village Park adjacent to the Town Hall. Volunteers stir the apple butter with a wooden paddle. You, too, can experience the camaraderie, as neighbors did in times past. All are welcome to take a turn stirring the apple butter. Free apple cider is available during the stirring. More than 2,800 half-pints of apple butter are available for sale in the Village Park. |
Many volunteers are needed to help make apple butter - two peelings, the Big Stir, and on the day of the Fest. Visit the Volunteer page for more information.
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