Why Softer Fruit Is The Best Choice For Homemade Apple Butter

If you're going to make homemade apple butter — and you should because there is a wide variety of ways to use it — then you should know what kind of apple works best. The rule is actually quite simple: softer apples are better for this purpose. Soft apples include Fuji, McIntosh, Grimes Golden, Braeburn, and Cortland. The reason why soft is superior for apple butter is because they cook down faster than crisper types. The crisper apples will still cook down, of course, but the process will be a bit longer.

Tasting Table's recipe for honey apple butter uses Granny Smith apples — recipe developer Catherine Brookes chose them for the tart flavor, which balances out the sweetness from some of the other ingredients, such as the sugar and honey. With this in mind, you can swap out the Granny Smith apples for a softer variety that will cook down faster. Braeburn apples are quite similar to Granny Smith, just a tiny bit sweeter, while Jonagold apples have a lot of the same tartness as Granny Smiths — both of these are great replacements for a faster process with a similarly great taste.

Meanwhile, our recipe for roasted chai apple butter already recommends either McIntosh (which are sweet-tart) or Cortland apples (which are mostly sweet with a bit of tartness) because of how well they cook down. However, feel free to experiment with any of the softer varieties to find the flavor that you like the best.

After you've put in all of this work of picking out the best apples and spending hours making the apple butter, you finally get to enjoy it — but what are the best ways? First and foremost, the apple butter is a spread — so use it on toast, classic scones, or English muffins. Or, add it to a flavored scone for a blend of fruity flavors, such as blueberry scones or buttermilk blackberry scones. You can also spread it over pancakes or waffles, either with or without the addition of maple syrup, for a more unique and sweet breakfast experience.

There are also ways to incorporate it into savory dishes, such as using it on meat like pork chops for a sweet depth of flavor or even spreading it on a savory scone like our ham, cheese, and scallions scones to add a bit of sweetness to the savory. Or, you could add it to a charcuterie board to be paired with crackers or various meats and cheeses — this way, guests can pick and choose their preferred ratio of sweet to savory.