Tasty pear butter
Although the name is misleading, pear paste does not contain butter. Instead, it contains fresh pears and a few other ingredients.
You can use any pear, but it is best to avoid Asian pears, which have a very low acid content, making them unsuitable for canning.
Ingredients for six 1/2-pint jars or three 1-pint jars:
- 6 lbs. pears (About 18 to 24 medium-sized pears), washed and peeled
- 1-2 cups sweetener like agave nectar, brown sugar, honey or maple syrup
- 3/4 cup liquid like apple cider, apple juice, red wine, or water
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- Seasoning to taste (Like cinnamon, citrus zest or vanilla)
Preparation:
- Prepare the pears by quartering and coring them. If you’re using a food mill or sieve, skip the coring step.
- Simmer the pears and lemon juice in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or a covered Dutch oven over low heat until the fruit is very soft.
- Working in batches. Run the cooked pears through a food mill, sieve or blender until the puree is uniformly smooth.
- Pour the pear puree back into the pot or Dutch oven. Add the liquid, sweetener and seasonings of your choice to the pears.
- Keep cooking the pears over medium-low to medium heat. Stir more and more frequently until you can use a spatula can trace along the bottom or the pear butter holds its shape when mounded into a teaspoon.
- Remove the pear butter from the heat.
- Ladle the hot pear butter into the prepared 1/2-pint or 1-pint canning jars. Leave 1/2-inch headspace between the butter and the underside of the lids.
- Wipe the jar rims with a clean tea towel and secure the two-piece lids. Load the jars into the prepared hot water canner.
- Process the jars for 10 minutes for altitudes lower than 6,000 feet or for 15 minutes if you live at an altitude greater than 6,000 feet.
- When the timer goes off, turn off the canner. Let the jars sit in the hot water for five minutes before removing carefully with a jar lifter.
- Let the contents of the jars cool down to room temperature before checking the seal of each lid. Remove the rings from sealed jars.
- Store any unsealed jars in the fridge and consume the pear butter in the next two weeks.
- Store the sealed jars in a cool, dry location away from direct light for up to 18 months.