You Ask, I Answer: Apple Butter

I moved to the United States four months ago and wanted to ask you about a food I hadn't heard of until yesterday.

Yesterday at a party I was at, someone brought homemade apple butter.

I don't like apples, so I didn't taste it.

But I was curious about what it was.

Is it fatty like peanut butter?

-- Estefania (last name withheld)
Los Angeles, CA

Apple butter is, for all intents and purposes, applesauce with less water.

There is no butter in it whatsoever.

If you were to make it at home (usually in a crock pot), you would add spices and sugar to applesauce and cook it down for anywhere from eight to 12 hours.

The cooking down process results in a thick texture akin to that of nut butters, hence the term "apple butter".

Two tablespoons contribute 58 calories to your day -- 99 percent in the form of carbohydrates.