I've no experience with apple butter but because of the enzymatic deterioration that normally occurs in any produce and the possibility of bacterial growth or further contamination, 24 hours is the usual maximum allowed safety limit between preparation and canning/processing.

Apples are high acid but with all that sugar already added you have a great growing medium for bacteria going that even refrigeration won't have slowed much. JMO and I admit that I lean heavily toward the safe side - but I think it is too late. Sorry.

Dave

I agree, I think a week is too long.

Dave and Linda Lou:

Thank you for your responses. I think I knew that's what the answer would be - but I was still hoping I could save it.

Personally, I'd put it in the freezer.

Melly:

Great suggestion - so that's what I did.

Thanks.
Maryann

I really wonder if putting it in the freezer at this point is wise .... If it had been in the freezer all along, fine. But, if it's unsafe to can at this point, I'd think it would be unsafe to freeze. Whatever may have been growing during the past week is still there and I do not think freezing is retro-active.
IMO, Kay

I know we all have our own tolerances for risk, and I could be totally wrong, but I'm having trouble seeing apple butter as really unsafe after a week. You do cook it for a long time in the first place. If you open a jar of apple butter later, do you throw it out if you haven't eaten it in a week. (Although I suppose processing it changes that equation.) Anyway, it isn't risking botulism (I do draw the line there) but I wouldn't throw it out. (But then again I reuse commercial jars and even the flat lids on occasion so you probably shouldn't listen to me.)

Amen Melly,

I assume the butter has been in the fridge for the week. It really is not a risk for growing bacteria given the acid level. It is at risk for mold growth, but bringing it to a good boil prior to processing and the processing itself should destroy any molds. I think I'd can it. I suspect the worst case scenario would be moldy jars a few months down the road, and I'd bet that doesn't happen.

Petro

Apple butter is lower-sugar than jam, so there is an increased risk of mold, but that's detectable by sight and/or smell.

I can see a quality issue, can't really see a serious safety issue. If it tastes OK, I don't see any harm in either freezing or canning. I wouldn't make a habit of it; I think one of our primary motivations for home-preserving is improved quality. But things do happen; I wouldn't compost if it retains a good flavor and texture.

Carol

Like I said, JMO and I do lean toward the safe side - it's kept me alive all these years. :)

But I do feel compelled to point out that comparing this prepared but never processed apple butter to either (1) an opened jar of apple butter that was processed or (2) to butter which was already pasteurized before you purchased it are not valid comparisons.

This is garden or market produce subject to bacterial exposure and other possible contaminants neither of the two examples given experience post proper preparation.

And much as I hate to disagree with Carol who is 99.9% of the time right on point, taste is far from a safety test. ;) E. coli has no taste, neither does salmonella, or any of the other potential bacteria, yeasts, enzymes or mold contaminants. It is the processing - the canning - not the preparation, that interrupts the life cycle of these potentially harmful contaminants.

Ultimately, we each have to do our own risk assessment.

Dave

I'm no scientist, so you may very well be right Dave, and of course, we each have to decide our comfort level.

But for apple butter to become apple butter, you have to cook it a good long time, beginning with the cooking of the apples themselves to the soft point, then adding the sugar and spices, sometimes vinegar or cider, then cooking further till it mounds on a spoon and no liquid seeps out. Often you're talking hours.

That is cooking way beyond pasteurization. No, it's not canned, but personally I still believe the risks are extremely low. Now if we were talking about fresh cider, that would be another issue.

However, no one I know of has tested for this, so you're absolutely right that the most conservative option is not to save it.

It's the kind of interesting dilemma we all have to sort out our positions on.

Carol

Wouldn't heating it up during the canning process kill the bacterias?