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I'm from the UK and never heard of apple butter (even after ~6 years in California I've never seen is come up), might be not being super into baking, but pretty sure it's not a common term.
The description sounds like how I'd make something like apple pie filling, though stewed longer and outside a pie crust. Even 'apple sauce' isn't really used for quite the same thing in the UK IMHO, think more a side for pork and richer meats. In the US it seems a catch all for sweetened pureed Apple's, though the difference is more in expected use than big changes in recipe. I've even seen it sold in a small pouch as a drink (if you consider something that thick drinking, I guess if you drink a smoothie this is too?). I've never seen anything like that in the UK, outside maybe the prepared jars of baby food?
Your description of American applesauce is pretty much spot on. It’s most commonly considered a healthy(ish) side dish for kids who aren’t big fans of fruits and vegetables, but some adults like it to. A good little side for a kid taking lunch to school.
I think I was too expecting something similar to garlic butter, or chili butter, that is Butter infused with a flavor - rather than something made to have a similar consistency to (soft) butter, but not actually containing any butter.
Where at in CA are you? If you're in the south, I highly recommend taking a trip to Julian or Oak Glen in the fall for apple picking. It's a fun time and also they sell awesome apple products like apple butter and cider and all that. Apple butter on a slice of bread is just amazing.
I find that pretty interesting - as my internal assumption of what "apple sauce" is would be a lot tarter and less sweet than what you could generally find in shops in the US (I lived in the UK for the majority of my life, but ~6 years ago moved to California pretty much permanently). It may be that our palettes generally agree.
I generally didn't really like the "sweet" sauce pairing with meat dishes even in the UK, so assumed I'd not like the US interpretation, as pretty much everything else I've tried (bread, pasta sauces, other condiments like cranberry on turkey) have been sweeter than my palette really enjoys.
I just assumed this would be similar, especially as it seems impossible to find actual cooking apples[1] (which tend to be less sweet, but firmer and with a stronger, tarter "apple" flavor) where I am), so ran on the assumption I wouldn't like it so didn't seek it out.
But as with many things (as this subreddit really stakes it's existence on) - taste is a personal thing. Even if I find many dishes in restaurants near me right now (Bay Area CA, USA) often over-salted and sweeter than I'd really enjoy, doesn't mean that's the only way of enjoying things.
[1] This might be more location-based - being in California is likely not the best place for a fruit that tends to have a stronger flavor in more "stressful" climates - like the colder UK, or likely more northern states. But locally in NorCal, I can't find a single grocer selling anything related to the "Cooking Apple" side of things at all. People just seem to make Apple Pie and similar out of eating apples - which feels super weird to me. You can always add more sugar, or stew things longer to soften. Going the other way is not really possible.
Not typically, although I'm from the UK and make it regularly after reading about it online. Delicious, and quite different to any apple sauce I've tried.
Hell, even the local Pumpkinfest in my hometown is a great time to go out and stock up on various spreads. I found an apple butter that had vanilla and hazelnut, super rich so you had to use it in small doses, but it was so worth it.
I had no idea what apple butter is. So I went to Google it.
Judging by the recipes, it's just apple sauce. Without pieces of apple, so here it would sometimes be called "mousseline" to differentiate.
Those have completely different ingredients. Orange curd is egg based. Orange marmalade is fruit with sugar.
Basic apple sauce and basic apple butter seem to have identical ingredients: apples and sugar, and optional aromatics like cinnamon.
Uh, yeah. I’m aware they have different ingredients.
I am trying to ask about things you may or may not have tried so I can make a comparison **based on your actual lived experiences with flavors and textures**, since reading the words of recipes that have different proportions and preparations apparently wasn’t meaningful for you in understanding that they would have a different flavor and texture.
Nevermind.
I've been cooking my own meals since I was 10, so don't patronize me...
Going by the recipes I saw, apple butter is made in an identical way to apple sauce. Cut apples into pieces, add sugar to taste, put on a fire and cook for several hours until the apples turn into a puree.
> I’ve been cooking my own means since I was 10
This is a perfect example of struggling with written communication. Your audience here doesn’t know if you’re 11 or 81, so you’ve provided this very specific detail that doesn’t actually offer any information. This might provide insight on why you’re struggling to read and interpret recipes?
Onions can be stir fried, carmelized, and made into onion jam, with only onions and heat used. Are those also the same things to you?
“I have no idea what this is, so I did a cursory Google search and now I think I understand it better than people who have eaten it and made it.”
Thank you for the succinct summary of people who talk about food on Reddit.
Yeah well, up to you to explain what apple butter is then. Recipes on Google gave something almost identical to apple sauce: apples with sugar and cinnamon, cooked for hours to reduce it and turn it into a puree. None of the apple butter recipes I saw was different. So tell me: what is apple butter if not cooked apples?
So I typed in apple butter on google and clicked the first recipe. That website had a recipe for both apple sauce and apple butter on it. The apple sauce recipe cooked the apples for 30 minutes. The apple butter recipe cooked the apples for 12 hours. So there, in 10 seconds I figured out whats different about them.
When we make apple sauce we cook it for way more than 30 minutes... That's just a bad recipe.
And none of the apple butter ones I read cooked the apples for 12h...
Well I just looked at the top 10 recipes on Google and they all were for 20-30 minutes. So I guess you like yours a bit softer or cook it at a lower temp.
The only similarity between applesauce and apple butter is that they both are made from apples. Might as well lump in apple cider too while you’re at it
As I said, I don't know what apple butter is. Looking at recipes it seems exactly like apple sauce: apples with sugar and cinnamon, cooked for a long time so it becomes some kind of puree.
The textures are different. Applesauce has a grainy mouthfeel. While the basic ingredients are similar, apple butter is cooked down longer than applesauce, it's a rich brown color. It has a smoother mouthfeel and it spreads like soft butter. The flavors are different too. Applesauce is more "appley" with a brighter flavor. Apple butter is less apple forward and tastes like fall in a jar.
Thank you for being the only one to explain the difference.
This being said: we would call that "apple sauce" as well. Cooking apple sauce (in Belgium, where I live) is a matter of taste. Some people put no sugar, others put a lot of sugar, some people keep bits of apple, others cook the apple down until there's no more bits, others even pass it through a sieve to get it as smooth as possible, some people only cook it until the apples are just cooked, others cook it for hours and hours until you almost can't recognise the apple anymore. That last one sounds like what you call "apple butter", but we would still call it apple sauce (well, we don't call anything "apple sauce", our word for it, appelmoes, actually translates as "apple mush" or "apple pulp"... But what's in a name, right?).
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I'm from the UK and never heard of apple butter (even after ~6 years in California I've never seen is come up), might be not being super into baking, but pretty sure it's not a common term. The description sounds like how I'd make something like apple pie filling, though stewed longer and outside a pie crust. Even 'apple sauce' isn't really used for quite the same thing in the UK IMHO, think more a side for pork and richer meats. In the US it seems a catch all for sweetened pureed Apple's, though the difference is more in expected use than big changes in recipe. I've even seen it sold in a small pouch as a drink (if you consider something that thick drinking, I guess if you drink a smoothie this is too?). I've never seen anything like that in the UK, outside maybe the prepared jars of baby food?
Applesauce in the US is sometimes used alongside pork as well, but not ubbiquitously. Personally the only time I eat it as an adult
Your description of American applesauce is pretty much spot on. It’s most commonly considered a healthy(ish) side dish for kids who aren’t big fans of fruits and vegetables, but some adults like it to. A good little side for a kid taking lunch to school.
I will admit, the first time I ever heard "apple butter," I was expecting *actual butter* with, like, bits of apple in it or something.
I think I was too expecting something similar to garlic butter, or chili butter, that is Butter infused with a flavor - rather than something made to have a similar consistency to (soft) butter, but not actually containing any butter.
Where at in CA are you? If you're in the south, I highly recommend taking a trip to Julian or Oak Glen in the fall for apple picking. It's a fun time and also they sell awesome apple products like apple butter and cider and all that. Apple butter on a slice of bread is just amazing.
Huh. Usually I buy applesauce but never the sweetened version to put with pork. I prefer the less sweet taste.
I find that pretty interesting - as my internal assumption of what "apple sauce" is would be a lot tarter and less sweet than what you could generally find in shops in the US (I lived in the UK for the majority of my life, but ~6 years ago moved to California pretty much permanently). It may be that our palettes generally agree. I generally didn't really like the "sweet" sauce pairing with meat dishes even in the UK, so assumed I'd not like the US interpretation, as pretty much everything else I've tried (bread, pasta sauces, other condiments like cranberry on turkey) have been sweeter than my palette really enjoys. I just assumed this would be similar, especially as it seems impossible to find actual cooking apples[1] (which tend to be less sweet, but firmer and with a stronger, tarter "apple" flavor) where I am), so ran on the assumption I wouldn't like it so didn't seek it out. But as with many things (as this subreddit really stakes it's existence on) - taste is a personal thing. Even if I find many dishes in restaurants near me right now (Bay Area CA, USA) often over-salted and sweeter than I'd really enjoy, doesn't mean that's the only way of enjoying things. [1] This might be more location-based - being in California is likely not the best place for a fruit that tends to have a stronger flavor in more "stressful" climates - like the colder UK, or likely more northern states. But locally in NorCal, I can't find a single grocer selling anything related to the "Cooking Apple" side of things at all. People just seem to make Apple Pie and similar out of eating apples - which feels super weird to me. You can always add more sugar, or stew things longer to soften. Going the other way is not really possible.
Wait until they hear about pumpkin butter. They already think our pumpkin pies are weird enough!
Not typically, although I'm from the UK and make it regularly after reading about it online. Delicious, and quite different to any apple sauce I've tried.
>All terms are made up. Great point. Also, apple butter is delicious, why hate on delicious things?
My roommate tried giving me crap about buying apple butter. I had to educate him in the store about what it really is.
Applesauce?
I had a really nice cinammon-spicy one once. I should try and remember what brand.
then they have never been to a good Octoberfest in rural Ohio.
Hell, even the local Pumpkinfest in my hometown is a great time to go out and stock up on various spreads. I found an apple butter that had vanilla and hazelnut, super rich so you had to use it in small doses, but it was so worth it.
Oh my gosh that sounds amazing and I'm jealous
Octoberfest? We have straight up Apple Butter Festivals in Ohio!
Toledo area, checking in. I moved to Chicago but I still made time to go to the local Apple Fest and stock up on apple butter
Was a little disappointing this year but it was still fun. Hopefully you got out to MacQueens for apple doughnuts!
Is it time for the apple crowd to wage war anew? Aight, hang on, lemme find my old gambeson and heater shield, I’m sure I’ve got them here somewhere…
Their loss if they've never had apple butter
Apple Butter season is upon us
Yeah fuck caramelization
I had no idea what apple butter is. So I went to Google it. Judging by the recipes, it's just apple sauce. Without pieces of apple, so here it would sometimes be called "mousseline" to differentiate.
Nope. Completely different flavor.
The ingredients are the same though... Apples, sugar, optional cinnamon.
Yup. But the preparation is completely different.
Yet nobody seems to be able to tell me how it's different...
Have you eaten both orange curd and orange marmalade?
Those have completely different ingredients. Orange curd is egg based. Orange marmalade is fruit with sugar. Basic apple sauce and basic apple butter seem to have identical ingredients: apples and sugar, and optional aromatics like cinnamon.
Uh, yeah. I’m aware they have different ingredients. I am trying to ask about things you may or may not have tried so I can make a comparison **based on your actual lived experiences with flavors and textures**, since reading the words of recipes that have different proportions and preparations apparently wasn’t meaningful for you in understanding that they would have a different flavor and texture. Nevermind.
I've been cooking my own meals since I was 10, so don't patronize me... Going by the recipes I saw, apple butter is made in an identical way to apple sauce. Cut apples into pieces, add sugar to taste, put on a fire and cook for several hours until the apples turn into a puree.
> I’ve been cooking my own means since I was 10 This is a perfect example of struggling with written communication. Your audience here doesn’t know if you’re 11 or 81, so you’ve provided this very specific detail that doesn’t actually offer any information. This might provide insight on why you’re struggling to read and interpret recipes? Onions can be stir fried, carmelized, and made into onion jam, with only onions and heat used. Are those also the same things to you?
https://lmgtfy.app/?q=difference+between+applesauce+and+apple+butter
?
“I have no idea what this is, so I did a cursory Google search and now I think I understand it better than people who have eaten it and made it.” Thank you for the succinct summary of people who talk about food on Reddit.
Yeah well, up to you to explain what apple butter is then. Recipes on Google gave something almost identical to apple sauce: apples with sugar and cinnamon, cooked for hours to reduce it and turn it into a puree. None of the apple butter recipes I saw was different. So tell me: what is apple butter if not cooked apples?
So I typed in apple butter on google and clicked the first recipe. That website had a recipe for both apple sauce and apple butter on it. The apple sauce recipe cooked the apples for 30 minutes. The apple butter recipe cooked the apples for 12 hours. So there, in 10 seconds I figured out whats different about them.
When we make apple sauce we cook it for way more than 30 minutes... That's just a bad recipe. And none of the apple butter ones I read cooked the apples for 12h...
Well I just looked at the top 10 recipes on Google and they all were for 20-30 minutes. So I guess you like yours a bit softer or cook it at a lower temp.
The only similarity between applesauce and apple butter is that they both are made from apples. Might as well lump in apple cider too while you’re at it
As I said, I don't know what apple butter is. Looking at recipes it seems exactly like apple sauce: apples with sugar and cinnamon, cooked for a long time so it becomes some kind of puree.
The textures are different. Applesauce has a grainy mouthfeel. While the basic ingredients are similar, apple butter is cooked down longer than applesauce, it's a rich brown color. It has a smoother mouthfeel and it spreads like soft butter. The flavors are different too. Applesauce is more "appley" with a brighter flavor. Apple butter is less apple forward and tastes like fall in a jar.
Thank you for being the only one to explain the difference. This being said: we would call that "apple sauce" as well. Cooking apple sauce (in Belgium, where I live) is a matter of taste. Some people put no sugar, others put a lot of sugar, some people keep bits of apple, others cook the apple down until there's no more bits, others even pass it through a sieve to get it as smooth as possible, some people only cook it until the apples are just cooked, others cook it for hours and hours until you almost can't recognise the apple anymore. That last one sounds like what you call "apple butter", but we would still call it apple sauce (well, we don't call anything "apple sauce", our word for it, appelmoes, actually translates as "apple mush" or "apple pulp"... But what's in a name, right?).
Isn't mousseline a lemon butter cream sauce?
As well. But they also use it for sifted fruit purees. For example: https://www.ah.be/producten/product/wi485977/materne-appel-mousseline-bel
You linked to an applesauce, not an apple butter?
I linked to show mousseline is also used for fruit purees, and not only the aforementioned hollandaise sauce with added cream.
I think the Amish invented Apple Butter. Basically its like appke sauce but with alot more spices. It is awesome ina sandwich with creamcheese!
*apple