
07 Oct Making Pear Butter (or Apple Butter)
Lately my son and I have been going on very long bike rides around town and discovering this new little town we moved to. On one of our trips I noticed a pear tree covered in pears, dropping fruit all over this alley. I saw the owner of the house and asked him if we could pick some pears. He said, “Sure, but they are rock hard.” I picked a bunch of the pears made the trip home with all of them.
Then I squeezed the juice from the orange to about 1/4 cup and added it to the pear sauce.
And then of course, to make it more jelly like, you need to add sugar. I added 1 1/2 cups of sugar. The measurement of spices, juice, and sugar is all up to you. Add some in, taste it, and make it your own. My rule always when cooking is to add a little at a time, taste, and add more if needed. I barely ever measure.
Stir it all together.
To make the thick, creamy consistency of pear butter (or apple butter) you need to have the water evaporate while cooking. To do this in a crock pot, place some butter knives under the lid so the lid is elevated a little. It will allow the steam to escape and the water to evaporate.
Cook on low for 12 hours and stir every so often. You will end up with something like this dark, creamy color.
With you jar funnel (which is sterilized), place it in the sterilized jelly jar and fill it with the hot pear butter. The pear butter needs to be hot to create a seal for the lid.
Fill the jars until they are about 1/4″ from the top rim. Wipe off any pear butter that might have gotten on the rim of the jar.
Use your jar lid grabber and place a hot lid on top of your jar. Place the ring around the jar lid and tighten.
Put them in the pot of boiling water and keep them cover with at least 1 inch of water and boiling. (People say to use a canning pot, which I think because it is coated so your jars won’t break. I didn’t have a problem with that, but it might be a good idea to invest in.) Boil for 15 minutes.
Use your jar grabber and remove the jars from the hot water. Be careful, they are hot!! Let the jars cool overnight and in the morning check to see if the jars have sealed. To check to see if they have sealed, just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (it will make a popping sound) it is not sealed. If they aren’t sealed you will need to refrigerate them, but more then likely they are seal and you now have your very own homemade pear butter!