Pear Butter, Slow but Easy

There was a time when making jams, preserves, or fruit butters was a long, hot process. It still takes awhile, but it's not so hot, or hands-on, now that you can make these tasty spreads using a microwave, crockpot, or even a bread maker. (My bread maker has a "jam" setting, but I must admit I haven't tried it . . . yet.)

But with those nice pears we got recently, and the possibility of more to come from the Schenks' tree, I thought I'd post an easy pear butter recipe. This one comes in part from the cookbook that came with my old crockpot, but special thanks to Angie Utley for telling me that not only didn't I have to peel the pears, it actually thickens better with the peels!

You have to cook the fruit first; Angie does this right in the crockpot, though I've done it on the stove in the past, and now think the microwave method is just spiffy.

Pear Butter

Pears, cored and diced
Sugar--about 1/2 cup per cup of diced pears
Cinnamon--about 1 teaspoon per 3 cups of diced pears
Nutmeg--about 1/4 teaspoon per 3 cups of diced pears

After you've cored and diced the pears, you need to cook them until they soften. You can do it in the crockpot, or on the stove, but it will take a few hours in the crockpot and upwards of an hour on the stove, over low heat. Or you can put them all in a glass bowl and microwave them (I had about 12 cups of diced pears, and microwaved the fruit for 7 minutes, stirred, cooked for 7 more minutes, stirred, and then cooked for a final 6 minutes).

When the fruit is soft, put it in the crockpot with the sugar (for 12 cups of pears, I made "low-sugar" pear butter with just 5 cups of sugar). Add the spices (I used 4 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg), mix well, and cook on high for 10 to 12 hours. Leave the lid off the crockpot for the last three hours or so, and stir (and mash) the fruit occasionally during those last three hours.

You should have a nice thick brown "butter," similar to apple butter. Put it in sterilized jars and either refrigerate it if you'll eat it soon, or use canning lids and process in a hot water bath for ten minutes to keep jars of it for the winter.

Update: Angie Utley posted a link to her favorite fruit butter recipe on the Enright CSA Facebook page and I wanted to share it here, too: Fruit Butters/Food in Jars. It uses less sugar, and I think I will use less sugar next time, too.