Apple butter is the signature of Amish cooking. It's not butter — it's a thick apple paste, slow-cooked to a dark brown.
Recipe
10 kg apples (any variety, bruised ones fine), 2 kg sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg. Cook apples with water until soft, press through a sieve. Reduce the purée 6–8 hours on low heat, stirring constantly.
The Copper Kettle
The Amish cook apple butter in huge copper kettles over open fire. Copper distributes heat evenly — nothing burns. Stirred with a long wooden paddle. It's communal work — stirring for 8 hours alone is impossible.
Doneness
Drop on a plate — if it doesn't spread, it's done. Color — dark chocolate. Consistency — thick paste. Ladle into sterile jars, seal.
Storage
Sealed — up to a year. High sugar + apple acid = natural preservative. Eaten with bread, pancakes, porridge.