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Apple butter is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by long, slow cooking of apples with cider or water to a point where the sugar in the apples caramelizes, turning the apple butter a deep brown. The concentration of sugar gives apple butter a much longer shelf life as a preserve than apple sauce. ==Background== The roots of apple butter lie in Limburg (Belgium and the Netherlands) and Rhineland (Germany), conceived during the Middle Ages, when the first monasteries (with large fruit yards) appeared. The production of the butter was a perfect way to conserve part of the fruit production of the monasteries〔http://www.slowfood.nl/userfiles/publicaties/177_sf_arkvdsmaakbrochure_lowres.pdf (in Dutch)〕 in that region, at a time when almost every village had its own apple-butter producers. The production of apple butter was also a popular way of using apples in colonial America, well into the 19th century. The product contains no actual dairy butter; the term "butter" refers only to the thick, soft butter-like consistency, and apple butter's use as a spread for breads. Typically seasoned with cinnamon, clove, and other spices, apple butter is usually spread on bread, used as a side dish, an ingredient in baked goods, or as a condiment. Apple butter is also used on a sandwich to add an interesting flavor, but is not as commonly used as in historical times. Vinegar is sometimes mixed in while cooking to provide a small amount of tartness to the usually sweet apple butter. The Pennsylvania Dutch often include apple butter as part of their traditional 'seven sweets and seven sours' dinner table array. In areas of the American South, the production of apple butter is a family event, due to the large amount of labor necessary to produce apple butter in large quantities. Traditionally, apple butter was prepared in large copper kettles outside. Large paddles were used to stir the apples, and family members would take turns stirring. In Appalachia, apple butter was the only type of fruit preserve normally rendered into fruit leather. In Europe, apple butter is commonly used in the Netherlands (known as ''appelstroop'' (apple syrup)) and in Germany (known as (apple kraut)]]) and frequently eaten on bread with (or without) thinly sliced cheese and with ''Sauerbraten''. A sweeter version, made using pears, as well as apples, is more popular in Belgium, where it is known as Sirop de Liège. Other than in Benelux and the Rhineland, apple syrup is a minority taste in Western Europe (in Germany, outside of the Rhineland, it is generally sold in health food shops), and a similar food is produced in francophone Switzerland, where it is known as ''vin cuit''. Russian Пови́дло (from Czech ''povidla'' or Polish ''powidła'' or ''powidło'') prepared by the reduction of fruit puree with some sugar and sometimes spices. The final product should contain no more than 34% of moisture and about 60% of sugar. The most popular one is made from apples, but ''povidlo'' is also made from apricots, cherries, prunes, pears, and cranberries. Polish "powidła" are made from fresh purple plums and with addition of sugar. In Jersey, in the Channel Islands, apple butter is known as "black butter" or ''lé nièr beurre'' and includes liquorice as an ingredient. Apple butter can be used as a fat substitute in reduced-fat or fat-free cooking, as well as vegan recipes.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Cook's Thesaurus: Fats )〕〔http://www.uihealthcare.com/topics/medicaldepartments/cancercenter/colorfulplate/desserts/bakingsubs.html〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「apple butter」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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