As Joni Mitchell famously sang...

"Hey, Farmer, Farmer, put away the DDT,

Give me the spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees...please..."

Good advice & when you do pick those spotted fruits, make them into fruit butter! 

The 1978 Kansas State University Extension Service Publication called

Tasty Home-Cooked Sweet Spreads

is a little booklet full of tips for making perfect fruit butters and a great recipe for canned Apple-Quince butter. 

First, the advice,

Fruit Butter Tips and Steps -

• Apples, plums, peaches and similar fruits are frequently used in making butterspreads.

• Imperfect Fruits are often made into butters. Spots and blemishes are removed, then fruit is cooked until tender and pressed through a sieve or food mill to remove cores, skins, etc. 

• The sieved pulp is cooked to evaporate moisture until it is thick enough to round up on a spoon before any sugar or spices are added.

• Fruit butter may contain no added sugar or as much as one-half pound of sugar to one pound of fruit pulp.

• After the the sieved pulp is cooked to evaporate the moisture, measure the pulp and add your sugar and spices at this stage of preparation. 

• Boil fruit butter rapidly, stirring constantly to prevent scorching and to retain as much as possible of the volatile oils and fragrance from spices.

• Fruit butter is done when it is thick and  clear. It will heap on the spoon and drop of in sheets.

• Fruit butter should be sealed in canning jars, then processed in hot water bath at simmering temperature (180 degrees F.) 2 minutes.

The Recipe...

Apple-Quince Butter

Ingredients: 

• 1 quart quince pieces

• 2 quarts apple pieces

• 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

• Sugar

Steps:

• Peel Quince and shred into fine pieces on vegetable shredder.

• Cook in a small amount of water until tender.

• Peel and shred apples.

• Combine apples with quince, and cook until soft. 

• Press fruit through a sieve or food mill.

• Measure pulp, add one-half as much sugar as fruit pulp.

• Cook slowly with lemon rind, stirring frequently to prevent scorching, until thick and clear.

• Ladle into hot sterilized jars. Fill to within one-half inch of top. Seal immediately.

• Process in water bath canner. (180 degrees F.) 20 minutes.

Delicious! It's hard to decide if it tastes better warm or chilled. Either way, enjoy! We are off to listen to some Joni Mitchell...