Apple Butter (in the crockpot)

After having a possible allergic reaction to some jam, I'm very jumpy buying jam. When I find a 'safe' one, it costs $4 for 8 oz which seems to go fast here. I decided to make some jam.  Plus then I get to control the amount of sugar which isn't an allergic thing but just all around beneficial. Can't wait to try some other in season fruit but as it is apple season, I started with Apple butter. Here's the recipe, adapted from All Day Apple Butter from Allrecipes.com. My grandmother made a great apple butter I'll try next time- just can't beat the ease of this crockpot recipe.

Original recipe makes 4 pints 

5 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped 1

1 1/2cups white sugar

 1/2 cup brown sugar

 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (prefer McCormick spices because well labeled for allergens)

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Place all in a slow cooker and mix well.

2. Cover and cook on high 1 hour.

3. Reduce heat to low and cook 9 to 11 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.

4. Uncover and continue cooking on low 1 hour. Stir with a whisk, if desired, to increase smoothness.

5. Spoon the mixture into sterile containers, cover and refrigerate or freeze. ( I used True Seal by Anchor containers for putting the apple butter in fridge and freezer. When you press the top of these, it expels the air. I didn't want to add canning to my list of to dos and quite frankly, am a little intimidated by it.)

2 recent reactions...more food sleuthing begins

Had a teeth grinding sort of day, but let me back up. On Thursday, My little one had a reaction to the food he was eating. He said his tummy hurt after eating and had hives on his face after a lunch of homemade bread (with egg, milk, yeast, pillsbury bread flour and Pillsbury wheat, and salt), Barney Butter (which he just tested positive on Rast but negative on skin), Ikea Lingonberry jam, and probably some fruit I've forgotten. I gave him Benadryl. That day, I was a little torn about whether I should give him the Epipen. It subsided quickly.

Fast forward two days to yesterday. Made another loaf of homemade bread (with Pillsbury white bread flour, Quaker oats, water, yeast, butter, salt), butter (land O Lakes with natural flavoring but I called them and it wasn't soy), the same jar of Lingonberry jam, pineapple I cut up, and Horizon chocolate milk. He began having hives around his mouth and saying his tummy hurt. At this point I am very worried about giving Benadryl again afraid it will mask the progressing symptoms. I wait and he tells me 'there is a hair on my tongue, ants are biting me, I am just very tired' and his tummy still hurts and hives are progressing. At this point I absolutely positively most certainly should have given the Epipen. Instead I gave Benadryl. It is so dumb but we just gave him the Epi and took him to the hospital by ambulance last week and I didn't want to traumatize him further. I will NEVER do that again. I will give the Epi. I will, I will. 

So now, we have no idea what caused it. And why was the second reaction worse? because of the food or because I waited to give medicine? Some cause theories:

1. He IS allergic to almonds despite the tests. And I had cross contaminated the jam for the second reaction.

2. The jam was cross contaminated with nuts or soy at the factory.

3. The chocolate milk has nut or soy exposure (although that doesn't explain Thursday- I bought it Friday).

4. The bread flour has thiamin mononitrate which can be derived from soy. The regular flour has this too and Gus has been eating things made with our regular flour which has thiamin mononitrate without reaction- if it is the thiamin mononitrate, maybe this is explained by it coming from different sources in the two different same brand flours?

5. He's allergic to something else we don't about. Something in that lingonberry jam?

Where is Angela Lansbury when I need her?