Hurricane Isaias could only delay Batesville’s annual Apple Butter Weekend, which celebrated its 50th consecutive year at Batesville Field on October 17 and 18—one week later than originally planned.
“Until this year, we always said, ‘It’s rain or shine—unless there’s a hurricane,’” said
Peggy Shaker, longtime festival organizer and member of the Batesville Ruritan Club, a nonprofit focused on community service. “Well, there it was.”
The dedicated group of volunteers, some of whom have left Batesville and treat the weekend as a homecoming, regrouped and worked through the weekend to produce 1,740 jars of apple butter, or 163 gallons, both red and green.
It’s made “the old-fashioned way,” Shaker said, with apples from Chiles Family Orchards, sugar and spices. Oh, and don’t forget the pennies.
That is, after the two-and-a-half bins of apples are peeled, trimmed, chopped and ground, taking most of Saturday, the resulting “smush” cooks down in 100-gallon copper kettles over a steady fire, stirred slowly with giant wooden paddles.
Volunteer Brenda Loving artfully turned the apple butter. Photo: Malcolm Andrews.Each kettle contains precisely seven copper pennies—which were discontinued by the U.S. Mint in 1982—to keep the mash from sticking to the bottom. The stirring takes all night, from 6 p.m. on Saturday until around 10 a.m. the next morning. The sugar and spice go in at just the right time. The result: a deep brown sugary paste that verges on syrup, rich with what tastes like cinnamon, clove and nutmeg (the chefs will never tell).
Then, a pancake feast. Finally, it’s bottling time, with 12 labeled jars to a case, for a total of 145 cases.
Shaker said Batesville Market will carry jars of apple butter throughout the holiday season. Proceeds help support the Ruritans’ work keeping Batesville roads and trails free of debris. The club has also provided support for institutions like Crozet Volunteer Fire Department, Meals on Wheels, Rockfish Wildlife Sanctuary and the Building Goodness Foundation.
On the Sunday afternoon, a dozen volunteers were seen loading cases of freshly made apple butter into minivans, washing tools and buckets. Well-used equipment sat ready to load, along with a single pair of thick leather gloves.
Surveying their work, Shaker and her team took a moment to marvel. “That’s a lot of apple butter,” she agreed.
