82-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 30, 1999
Baumans Continue Apple Butter Heritage
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
SASSAMANSVILLE (Mont
gomery Co.) The fragrance of
simmering apples drifts across the
small village of Sassamansvllle.
The source of the aroma wills
from a nondescript two-story
Kathy and John examine apples to determine which will
be used for apple butter and which will be used for cider.
Each day during peak season, about 400 bushels of apples
are turned into apple butter and 500-800 bushels are press
ed into cider.
building flanked on either side by
brick homes situated in the middle
o!' town.
Passers-by would never suspect
that inside the aging building some
of the most delectable fruit butters
and cider are being processed.
It's a historic family business,
dating back to 1892 and passed
down through the generations to
Harvey and Kathy Bauman and
children, John, 13, and Heidi, 9.
The secret of the Bauman’s suc
cess stems from a family recipe
from the 1700 s.
“We use the same recipe no
preservatives or shortcuts,” Kathy
said of the rich, dark apple butter
that requites seven hours of
cooking.
Heidi and John are already helping in the family buaineaa by waiting on customers
such as Ford Greer. Andy Allen, an employee, stands at right
While people today use apple
butter basically as a spread or con
diment, the story is told that apple
butter served as a food staple that
enabled refugees fleeing religious
persecution to stay alive during
their ocean vogage.
In 1734, the followers of Casper
Schwenkfoid came to Pennsylva
nia as Christian refugees from
Silesia, seeking freedom of
worship.
“They survived cm the high seas
in part due to an ample supply of
apple butter, which could be kept
withouth preservatives or refriger
ation,” Kathy said.
When the group arrived safely
in the new world, they celebrated
with a meal of bread and apple
butter.
The group settled in southeast
ern Pennsylvania alongside Men
nonitc settlements. Harvey’s
great-great-grandfather, a Menno
nite, operated a carriage manufac
turing shop. In 1892, he purchased
a cider press and operated it with a
steam engine in his shop. Soon he
began making apple butter, made
with the recipe his wife had
received from her Schwenkfolder
ancestors.
The apple butter business con
tinues to grow and has long ago
replaced the carriage business. The
same building is still used,
although it has been added onto
again and again to house the grow
ing demand for fruit butters and
cider.
Although the process has been
automated, the original cider press,
although modified, is still in use.
Most of the wooden pieces of the
1892 press have been replaced
with stainless steel and metal parts.
The bill of sale for the original cid
er press is posted on the wall of the
store. The purchase price in 1892
was $432.
Harvey is a mechanical engineer
who has designed much of the
mechanical process. Despite his
training, his wife said, “Harvey
learned the most by following his
dad around.”
Several apple butter cookers are
used for processing, but the same
lid that Harvey’s grandfather
patented in 1906 is still used.
Kathy tuns the day-to-day oper
ation while Harvey holds down a
full-time job as an engineer. Ten
full-time and 10 part-time employ
ees work during the busy summer
and fall months. If equipment
breaks down, Harvey is contacted
by phone. Most of the time,
Harvey can diagnose and walk the
caller by phone through making
the repairs.
An automatic turn table is used
to fill the jars with the fruit butter.
Bauman's apple butter is darker
and richer in flavor than most mass
produced varieties on the market
Kathy explains that the tidier fla
vor is derived from cooking cider
with the apples for seven hours. No
hurrying up process for them.
Mote than five pounds of apples
ate required to yield one pound of
apple butter. The original apple
butter contained no added sugar,
but for those who prefer it, the
added sugar variety is also avail
able. However, Kathy said, “The
extra cider cooked with the apples
makes it almost as sweet as the
sugar-added style.”
During the peak of the season,
Baumans process about 400
bushels of apples a day for apple
butter and another SOO-800
bushels for dder. They buy all the
Harvey and Kathy Bauman with children, John, 13, and
Heidi, 9, are in the midst of their buay aeason making apple
butter, other fruit butters, and cider. The Baumans still use
the centuries-old apple butter recipe, which helped keep
Harvey’s ancestors alive during their escape from religious
persecution.
apples from local growers who are
in abundance in the area.
Baumans use a mixture of sweet
and tart apples to make the apple
butter. The ted delicious variety is
After seven hours of cook
ing, apple butter, made in
2£gallon batches, is ready to
Jar. About 5 pounds of apples
are needed to make one
pound of the dark, rich apple
butter made with a recipe
handed down through the
centuries.
not useable for apple butter but is
needed for cider in which they also
use a mixture of in-season variet
ies. Because cider is made from a
different mixture depending on
what’s available, it may vary in
taste a bit. “But die flavor doesn’t
vaiy much," Kathy said.
Apple cider is made in a press
that has 3,000 pounds of pressure.
In addition to their own, the Bau-
(Turn to Page B 3)
Kathy shows some of the
gift boxes packaged with sev
eral varieties of fruit butters.