This is from the cookbook, "The Art of Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking" by Edna Eby Heller, Doubleday & Co., Garden City, NY, 1968. In the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect, apple butter is called lottwaerrick. The word is often linked with schmierkase, the Pennsylvania Dutch type of cottage cheese, and the two, according to some self-appointed authorities, should never be separated. It is true that rye bread is never any better than when it is spread with a thick layer of lottwaerrick and topped with schmierkase. It is a good combination for any kind of bread. Apple butter-boiling was a custom brought here from the Palatinate where other kinds of fruit were cooked in the same manner--many hours over the open fire. It calls for a party, when bushels of apples are made into gallons of apple butter in a process that lasts all day or even several days. Many hands are required to pare the apples, cut the schnitz (apple slices), and, last but not least, to stir and stir and stir some more. In past generations, apple butter-boiling time was the social event of the season when young couples gathered to take their turns in "schnitzing" and stirring. Although the apple butter is still boiled the same way, the younger generation seems no longer interested in "schnitzing parties!" APPLE BUTTER (Adapted Oven Method) (5 quarts) 1 peck sweet cooking apples 1 quart cider 1 quart water 10 cups sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon cloves 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice Wash apples, rubbing thoroughly if they have been sprayed. Core and cut into eighths. (Do not peel.) Add cider and water and cook until apples are soft. Press through strainer. Put into a large kettle that will fit in your oven. (I use 2 roasters.) Mix in 5 cups of the sugar. Bake in 350 degree oven. Every half hour, stir with a wooden spoon. (A timer is an excellent reminder!) After an hour of cooking, add remaining sugar and spices. Cook 3 more hours or until the butter is thickened and dark red. Pour into sterilized jars and seal. SCHMIERKASE (Pennsylvania Dutch Cottage Cheese) Put a quart of milk into an earthen crock and keep in a warm place until it thickens. Put into a cheesecloth bag and hang up to drain. It should drain for at least a day. To the dry curds left in the bag, slowly add an equal amount of light cream, working it in until the cheese has a creamy consistency and is soft enough to spread on apple-butter bread. Add salt to suit your taste. vee