Fruit Butters

Posted by Guest Blogger on 8th Feb 2018

Fruit Butters

Tea & Toast

Would you like butter with that?

It's winter. I'm sorry, I don't need to remind you do I? Or maybe a reminder is necessary. The way it stands, Winter could be the name of a new rollercoaster--one minute it's 10 degrees, the next it's 60. Friday the 12th, temperatures reached 60 in our area. And as I write this post, weather channels are calling for mid 40s-50 by week's end, but not before we get 4-6 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow!

Well regardless of all that, on a drab winter's day I like to spice things up with some fruit butter. Yes, fruit butter, apples aren't the only fruit worthy of "buttering up." Being from the west coast, the first time I heard the words "apple butter," I thought it might be apple flavored (dairy) butter. Now I know better. And, as it turns out, pumpkins, pears, and peaches make very tasty fruit butters. Our Fruit Butter Manager, Laurence Beachy, has been crafting our butters for almost 10 years now.

While Laurence has been at it nigh on 10 years, Kauffmans has been making their own apple butter since 1989. Of course, Kauffman's didn't "invent" apple butter. It's been around for years. According to a Washington Post article written back in 1982 "Apple butter probably came to America with the early German settlers of the mid-Atlantic states; it remains a staple of the "seven sweets" offered tourists who dine at Pennsylvania Dutch eateries. The American Heritage Cookbook notes that the Schwenkfelder sect still holds an annual Thanksgiving meal that duplicates their first on American soil, a menu that includes water, bread, butter and apple butter."

There you have it. What's better then one of the "seven sweets" to brighten a winter's day? There's something about winter that brings to mind cozy cups of hot apple cider, a favorite tea or creamy cocoa; not to mention plates of buttered toast, cookies, or pastries. Put the kettle on and let's chat over Brie Cheese & Fruit Butter Quesadillas. Or if you're in the mood for a movie, come over and we'll have grilled cheese fused with pear butter followed by a dessert snack of crackers smothered with marmalade or fruit curd.

Although with the threat of snow on this (on again/off again) winter's night, I think I'll curl up with a good book, some tea, and a toasted English muffin slathered with peach butter! Yummy!

Stay connected with us; follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.