It's been a good week. We are slowly beginning to get caught up. A few weeks ago I picked the pears from our pear trees. A lot of people don't know that pears are not picked when ripe. You pick them when they are too hard to eat and then allowed to ripen slowly in a brown paper bag. (Strange....I know) If they are allowed to ripen on the tree, often times they become over ripe and are too mushy to want to eat.
This week my pears were finally ready for making into pear butter. A friend of mine asked me why it's called pear butter. She wondered if it might actually contain butter in the recipe. (Logical question) The answer is no. It is called pear butter because of its buttery consistency.
The nice treat about pear season is you know the fall season is following right behind. (And then of course the Christmas season is soon after.) When pear butter is simmering on the stove it smells just like Christmas. The scent of cinnamon and cloves in the air is pure heaven. I'm going to include the pear butter recipe because having extra jars on hand is always nice during the holiday season. ( Friends and family love receiving this wonderful treat!) This recipe made fifteen jars. However, you can adjust the ingredients down to make only a few jars. You can also add or subtract spices of your choice to suit your taste.
* It's important to remember that unprocessed pear butter will keep in the refrigerator up to a month. If you decide to sterilize your jars and can your pear butter for long term storage, it must be processed for 10 minutes in a water bath canner. *
Pear Butter
10 pounds of ripe pears peeled, cored, and chopped into chunk size pieces
1 cup of water
2 cups of Brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Allspice
1/2 teaspoon Cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla
Place the prepared pears in a large heavy bottom Dutch oven or pan. Add the water and bring to a low boil. Boil for 20 to 30 minutes or until the pears begin to soften and mash easily. Begin mashing the pears using an immersion blender or potato masher until they are well with blended and have a creamy consistency. Add the remainder of the ingredients stirring until well incorporated. Continue cooking at a low simmer until the desired thickness is reached. (The longer it cooks, the thicker it will become)
The above will make between 12 to 15 8oz jars of pear butter. As stated before, you can adjust the recipe to make a smaller amount if desired. The spices can be adjusted as well to your preferred taste. Enjoy! 😋