APPLE BUTTER

apple flesh boiled, or otherwise evaporated, with cider or vinegar to a semi-solid consistence together with (generally) sugar and spices. If (as it should be) made exclusively from sound, ripe fruit, it is equally nutritive and enjoyable. Its harmonious acceptability by the stomach varies with the quantity eaten, the idiosynerasies of the consumer, and (perhaps chiefly) with the proportion of spices used. Apple butter substitutes generally use cornstarch or cornmeal in place of apple flesh, imitate the apple flavor with citric acid and apple oil, and counterfeit fruit consistence by the aid of vegetable gums and waxes.