Pear butter
Nick had worked out an arrangement with one of the vendors at the Galleria farmers' market to buy off all her bruised fruit for a song. "Don't be alarmed by 50 lbs. of pears," said Nick. "We don't have to peel them." Grand. Still, we did have to core, chop and cook them down. The pumpkin butter was sealed and done, and the fig jam was well underway by the time we even began dealing with the pears. Russ and I set to work, converting ourselves into pear coring machines, filling container after container with 1" cubes of slippery pear flesh. In the end, we barely got through half the pears before deciding we wouldn't have the time -- or energy -- to finish the job all in one shot.
Some of the pears got a little scorched, but as we lovingly ladled the puree into our jars, being careful not to dislodge any actual burnt bits from the bottom of the pot, it had a dedidedly not unpleasant burnt-sugar aroma, so we joked that they became caramelized pear butter. Truth be known, we're into one of the jars of scorched stuff now, and in fact it has a delicious caramel flavor. I wouldn't recommend attempting this deliberately, but if it happens know that all is not lost.
This recipe comes to us from our friend George, or more accurately from his mother, Peg. As far as I'm concerned, any canning recipe that comes from a little old lady in Nebraska simply has to be good. Like the fig jam, this recipe uses only citrus rind for pectin. The resulting pear butter has a pleasantly creamy texture. It bursts with citrus and spice flavors, but still screams "pear" throughout. We're already well into consuming our second jar of the stuff. Glad we canned so much of it.
(Photo: DPaul Brown)
Spiced Pear Butter
4 lb. Bartlett pears
1/2 c. dry white wine
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1-1/2 c. sugar
4 orange slices
1 lemon slice
4 whole cloves
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cinnamon stick
pinch of salt
Stem, core and chop the pears into rough 1" cubes. Combine pears, wine and lemon juice in large, heavy saucepan. Cover and simmer until pears are soft, pushing unsubmerged pears into liquid occasionally, about 25 minutes. Force through food mill or coarse sieve. Transfer to processor and puree. Return puree to heavy large saucepan. Add remaining ingredients. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves.
Increase heat to medium and boil gently until mixture thickens and mounds slightly in spoon, stirring often, about 50 minutes. Discard fruit slices, cloves, vanilla and cinnamon.
Ladle into hot, sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4" head space. Adjust caps according to manufacturer's directions. Process 12 minutes in boiling water bath. Remove and allow to cool. After cooling, check seals.
sean, this is just screaming to me: Make me make me (and no innuendo of any kind intended) so I suppose i'll have to succumb...
Posted by: Ilva | October 24, 2006 at 08:33 AM
By all means, make it make it! :-)
Posted by: Sean | October 24, 2006 at 09:02 AM
Pumpkins, figs, and now pears? Lord I am so jealous.
Posted by: Garrett | October 24, 2006 at 10:28 AM
And it is so not over. I mean, that round of canning is over, but hey, persimmons and pomegranates are just now coming in ...
Posted by: Sean | October 24, 2006 at 11:03 AM
I had no idea Nick was such a fruit fan and home economist. I wish I had the energy to do this stuff but given my low glycemic diet, there's not much point...
Posted by: spidra webster | October 27, 2006 at 03:43 PM
Nick LOVES to can. We've been talking about this project for ages. It's big fun -- and there are things you can can (heh) that are not necessarily sugar bombs. Pasta sauce comes to mind. And pickles. Mmmm ... pickles.
Posted by: Sean | October 27, 2006 at 03:51 PM
How many cans does this recipe yield?
Posted by: Cathy | July 02, 2007 at 09:28 PM
Oh, gosh, lots. I would venture to say these proportions will yield 12 1/2-pint jars, more or less, depending on how much you cut away when prepping the pears, how many you eat prior to cooking down, etc.
Posted by: Sean | July 03, 2007 at 09:37 AM
can you do a smaller batch of them without canning and that goes right to the frige.And if so how long will it last.
love your web sight
sam
Posted by: samantha | September 13, 2007 at 06:16 PM
Wow! I made this with asian pears and it was fabulous! I had to use orange juice because we live out in the country and I realized too late we didn't have fresh, it still is wonderful. It is made for being an ice cream topping. Thanks
Posted by: ginny | September 22, 2007 at 05:14 PM
I am back...I froze the pear butter in one quart freezer bags and they thaw wonderfully.
Posted by: ginny | September 28, 2007 at 04:22 PM
Asian pears -- I would never have thought of it, but I'll have to give it a try!
Posted by: Sean | September 28, 2007 at 05:22 PM