KENT, Conn.— Throughout October, the Eric Sloane Museum is featuring a special online celebration of Eric Sloane’s pen-and-ink works tied to the daily Inktober drawing prompts.
The prompts can be followed on the museum’s Facebook page or the Eric Sloane Museum Instagram account.
The first prompt was “Apple”—apple pie, apple cider and candied apples are just a few of the signature apple treats associated with fall –but did you know that early Americans particularly enjoyed apple butter?
At the Eric Sloane Museum, there are countless tools for making apple butter on display, including shovels, paddles and more. Like many of the museum’s tools, the recipe originally came from Europe—Germany, to be specific—and was made an American tradition by the immigrants who brought it across the pond.
Here is a recipe as featured in Eric Sloane’s “The Seasons of America Past”:
“Apple Butter—For two gallons, use one bushel of peeled and quartered apples. Dump into a large kettle with just enough water to start cooking. Cook over a hot fire (outdoors preferably). Mix one gallon of cider and three pounds of sugar, add spices (1/8 cup of allspice, 1/4 cup of cloves, 1/2 cup of cinnamon), and boil to the consistency of molasses. Add this mixture to apples and stir continuously for about 7 hours. Then bank the fire and allow to cool.”
What other traditional treats and recipes should we highlight during this upcoming fall and winter?
Inktober provides daily prompts to encourage artists to draw throughout October.
