Pear Butter

I have been very interested in Fruit Butters, although I had not appreciated quite what they were. So I have been carrying out research over several sites as to how to actually make these unusual preserves.

The site I plumped for in the end used a Crock Pot or Slow Cooker, the ingredients were in cups, but I had a set of these in any event so that was not a problem for me.  Essentially however it also gave instructions on how to make the preserve last longer on the shelf by hot water bathing the jars after bringing to the boil for 10 minutes.  The post and link I used as a starter point is here Pear Butter The Spruce Eats. However I have read many posts in relation to making Pear Butter and this one seemed the simplest.

This is the quantity I came up with to try initially, but next time I will use double the quantity which should fill my medium sized slow cooker and produce a few more jars of preserve.

Ingredients:

3lb of Pears

1-1/2 cups of water

1/2 to 1 cup of sugar (for longer term storage it is recommended to use the full amount of sugar as this is part of what preserves the Butter).

Peel your chosen pears and core.  Then cut into small pieces. I popped mine into water with some citric acid added to stop the pears going brown.  I think you could use salt water if no citric acid.  Once all the pears were prepared, I then rinsed them in a colander and then added them to a saucepan with the water added.

The Pears do foam up quite a bit during cooking; once brought to the boil turn down to a simmer. They are ready when the Pear pieces start to break down.  If you press a spoon or a fork into a pear piece it will squash down quite easily as in the picture below. The top piece is a whole piece, the lower part of the picture is after it has been squished with a fork.

You then pass the Pears through a sieve or a food mill. I used my stick blender to do this, which still left a little texture.

The sugar was then added and stirred until dissolved.

Everything was then tipped into the slow cooker; the lid is not totally on, allowing steam to escape.  The machine is set on low and left overnight or more until the Pear mixture has thickened and is ready.  This is determined by taking a tablespoon and taking a scoop of the mixture.  If the mixture does not pour down the sides of the spoon but sits upright the mixture is cooked. The colour does change slightly as the preserve cooks.

To can the mixture, place the Pear Butter into pre-sterilised warmed jars (I do mine in the oven).  Fill the jars to within a 1/4 inch of the top of the jar.  Cover with hot sterilised lids or lids and rings if you are using glass jars with metal screw bands and seals.    Process in a hot water bath.  

The first picture below shows the jars have been placed in a pan with some clean dishcloths I have used to wad the jars from direct heat in the bottom of the pan. This is done to try and stop the jars from breaking. I also use a heat diffuser under the pan and between the flame of the hob (I use a gas hob).

Add water to the pan, covering both jars by about 2 inches over the lids.  Bring to the boil, once boil has been reached process for 10 minutes.  This apparently will make the Pear Preserve shelf stable.

The finished Pear Butter.  It has gone a little darker than it was, but I must say that I really do like the flavour of this and see all sorts of possibilities in actually using it as long as it stays shelf stable.

Possibilities for using the Pear Butter include pancakes, rice pudding, semolina pudding, on Muesli, with yogurt, in a cake with fresh cream or buttercream, also with pastries. In cakes to mix the cake together, for using as a basis for a sauce and to serve with ice cream.  So there are a lot of ways that it could be used.  I intend to try some other variations as well including spiced, plum and apple.

 

I like it when I try something new as it builds the skill base, and the repertoire of what to preserve having slightly different uses to some of the other preserves we can put up.

I am very much looking forward to playing more with "Fruit Butters" and incorporating them more into eating and cooking generally.  I do not know why I have not visited Butters sooner.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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