THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 25, 1996 TAG: 9610230117
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 52 lines
Members of the Chesapeake Host Lions Club will make homemade apple butter starting at 5:30 a.m. today and at the same pre-dawn hour on Saturday at the Christian Church Uniting in Virginia Beach.
The project is something new for the local Lions, who are accustomed to selling brooms and light bulbs to raise money to help the blind and sight-impaired in the community.
Richard Rock, an organizer of the project, said the idea of raising money through the sale of apple butter is new to Chesapeake but a tradition at his former home in Troutville, where he served as postmaster.
``I'm from the Roanoke area,'' the Deep Creek resident said. ``And it's done all the time there. I know we did it every year for the Troutville Lions Club. I offered the idea to the Chesapeake club, and they took to it immediately. I don't think it's ever been done here before.''
This morning and tomorrow morning, Rock along with Henry Amos and Frank Dickerson, two fellow Troutville Lions Club members, will take peeled apples and begin the long cooking process in a copper kettle over a wood fire.
``We'll use a mix of apples,'' he said. ``Then we cook them each day for about 12 hours. During that time we have to keep stirring and stirring and stirring. You can't let the mixture burn or get scorched. That will ruin the batch and the kettle, too.''
Rock said that during the cooking and stirring process, they'll slowly add the needed sugar, cinnamon and cloves. He said Amos will be the official tastemaster, adding the critical spices and flavors to taste.
``They all have to be put in a little at a time,'' Rock said. ``You have to keep adding gradually to get just the right flavor.''
Although Rock's former Lions Club was adept at producing up to 1,200 quarts at a time, he said this first-time venture for the Chesapeake Host Lions should yield about 250 quarts. Each quart jar will sell for $5.
And what about the taste?
Rock said the difference between homemade apple butter and the store-bought stuff is miles apart.
``There's no comparison,'' he said. ``What you buy in the store can't match the quality or flavor of what we make.
``I love it on a hot, buttered biscuit,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
AT A GLANCE
What: Apple Butter Sale by the Chesapeake Host Lions Club
When: Saturday from 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Where: Christian Church Uniting, 6049 Indian River Road, Virginia
Beach
Cost: $5 per quart jar by CNB