Nier Beurre
Submitted by ddtees
Nier beurre: traditional Jersey-style apple butter cooked down in reduced cider with orange, lemon, and allspice. A thick, dark, intensely appley spread from the British Isles.
YIELD
1 batchPREP
20 minCOOK
45 minREADY
2 hrsNier beurre (sometimes called black butter, from the Jersey patois for “black butter") is a traditional apple butter from the Channel Islands, where it’s been made at communal autumn gatherings for centuries. Apples and reduced dry cider get simmered down over hours into a thick, dark spread perfumed with citrus and allspice.
Unlike American apple butter, which often leans heavily on cinnamon, this version uses allspice alone and trusts the apples and cider to do the flavor work.
Reducing the cider by half before anything else goes in concentrates its sweetness and character. Fast-boil it, don’t coddle it. Add half the peeled and sliced apples first, let them soften to near-pulp, then add the second batch for more apple texture variation in the final spread.
A potato masher works the fruit down as it cooks. The double-batch approach is what gives nier beurre its characteristic mix of totally-broken-down pulp and slightly-firmer pieces for interest.
The doneness test is the one worth learning: draw a spoon across the surface and it should leave a clear track that doesn’t fill back in. No sugar thermometer, no plate test, just trust the pot.
Kitchen Tips
- Use a mix of tart and sweet apples, Granny Smith and a soft dessert apple is a classic combination
- Stir frequently near the end, the low-water, high-sugar mixture scorches fast when it thickens
- Use a non-reactive pan like stainless steel, aluminum can discolor the apple butter
- Open jars should be refrigerated and eaten within 3 to 4 days, this is not a canning recipe
Variations
Ingredients
Directions
Fast boil the cider until reduced by half.
Peel, core and slice HALF of each sort of apple; add them to the pan, pushing them well down into the liquid.
Half-cover the pan and simmer gently until the fruit is soft.
Add the remaining apples, prepared in the same way, together with the juice and zest of the citrus fruits.
Half-cover the pan and continue simmering until all the fruit is well reduced, pulpy and tender.
Stir occasionally and crush the fruit down into the pan with a potato masher as it cooks.
Measure the pulp and process it to a purée if it is at all lumpy.
Add sugar at the rate of 10 oz for every pint of apple pulp, and stir in about 1 teaspoon ground allspice.
Simmer, stirring frequently, until most of the moisture has been driven off.
The readiness of a fruit butter is judged by its consistency, not by set or temperature.
It is ready when it is nearly dry - a spoon drawn across the mixture should leave its own impression.
Pot in small, clean, warm jars and store in a very cold larder or fridge.
Once jar is opened, the contents should be eaten up within 3 or 4 days.
Makes enough to fill 4 or 5 small jars.
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