Apple Butter: A 150 Year Old Simpson Family Tradition

Photo provided by Chester Simpson

Nearly every October for the past 150 years, my family gathers at the home place (my grandparents’ house) in the Roanoke Valley nestled in Virginia’s beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. In the beginning, this tradition was born out of necessity as a way of sustaining the family through the lean winter months.  Today, it is a reason to gather and celebrate our big family and honor the generations who came before us. I’m beyond proud to share a “taste” of apple butter with you today!

My dad and his 7 siblings in this photo were born and raised in a log cabin in Roanoke, Virginia, built by my great great grandfather. My grandparents, who we called Mommoy and Poppoy, struggled through the Great Depression, like most families in that part of the country.  They lived off the land, grew what they ate, and were able to make some income selling the apples grown in the apple orchard on their property.

The apples they couldn’t sell that were bruised or fell from the tree before picking, they would use to make apple butter.  It’s a tradition that started about 150 years ago and continued until just a few years ago.  We know this because we have a letter from an ancestor who fought in the Civil War.  He wrote that he hoped the war would end in time for him to return home for apple butter making.

For most of my life, I remember, nearly every October, going to my grandparent’s house (they added on to the original log cabin) and making apple butter.  My aunts, uncles, and cousins would all be there and we’d have a blast spending the weekend together.

Family Home Place

Step 1: Peeling & Coring

Step 2: Stirring

Step 3: Canning

We’d start Friday around noon peeling and coring about 20 bushels of apples. Later in the day we’d begin cooking them down in a 40-gallon copper kettle, over an open fire. The apples have to be stirred continuously so they don’t burn and to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the kettle, we always threw a handful of pennies into the mixture.  You had to be careful when spreading apple butter on your toast afterwards that you didn’t accidentally swallow a penny. 

The apples are stirred and cooked overnight (12 plus hours) well into Saturday afternoon so the younger generations take shifts throughout the night to make sure the kettle is never unattended and the stirring never stops. Once the apples are all cooked down to a thick and relatively smooth consistency, sometime Saturday afternoon, we form an assembly line, can it, and then divide it up. We can easily have 20-30 people at Apple Butter and there’s plenty for everyone to take home enough to get them through until next year’s Apple Butter weekend.

Peeling 20 bushels of apples and cooking them over an open fire for 12 or more hours isn’t a feasible option for most families so I recommend these more realistic options for celebrating apple season with your loved ones. 

EASY: Awesome Sauce Homemade Apple Sauce

You don’t need me to tell you it’s infinitely better than what you buy in the store, a cinch to make, and will make your whole house smell deelish!  I like The Pioneer Woman, Dree Rummond’s recipe. I’ve made this recipe a thousand times and it never disappoints.

Photo by Dree Rummond / The Pioneer Woman

EASIER: Slow Cooker Apple Pear Crisp

Pull out your slow cooker and let it do the cooking for you.  This fuss-free dessert from damndelicious.net will have your family and friends begging for more!

Photo by Damn Delicious

EASIEST: As American As Apple Pie

If you’ve got the craving but you haven’t got the time to make a homemade apple dish, here’s the next best thing. I cannot say enough about Grand Traverse Pie Company and their sweet fruit pies.  They’re up in Michigan and we featured them one year on “Oprah’s Favorite Things.”  One of my bosses at Harpo (the amazing Amy Coleman) was crazy about their signature crumb cherry pie so we ordered a nearly 2 foot in diameter pie for her birthday. They drove it from Michigan to Chicago and we promptly devoured it. I will never forget how good that pie tasted. I often order pies from TPC for events or to send out as gifts.

Photo of Apple Mountain Top Pie by Grand Traverse Pie Company