Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Pear Butter

Our pear tree was extremely productive this year. After giving away bags of pears to everyone who would take them, we were still buried in pears.

I've heard a lot about apple butter and was always wanted to try it. With pears and apples being so similar (in my mind at least), I figured I could make some pear butter instead! It turned out really nicely.

I used it instead of mayo on a ham sandwich and it was a nice salty/sweet combo. It was also a nice change of pace from boring old ham sandwiches. Do you have any other suggestions on how to use it?

This is my submission to the Grow Your Own blogging event which shows off things people grow and the things they make with it. Check out Mowgli Chic's blog on Sept 30th to see what everyone else made!









Ingredients:
-Pears
-Sugar
-Cinnamon
-Nutmeg
-Water

Directions:
- Wash, cut and core the pears.
- In a pot or pressure cooker with just a tiny bit of water (the pears will release a lot of their own liquid, so you don't need much), cook the pears until they are soft.
- Use a stick blender or an actual blender and blend until smooth. It'll probably have a consistency similar to watery applesauce.
- Put the mixture in a heavy pot or slow cooker and reduce it until it reaches the desired consistency (similar to peanut butter). This will take a looooong time, so be patient. I reduced mine by more than 2/3 before I was happy with the consistency.
- Stir it every once in a while to keep it from burning, turning the heat way down when the mixture becomes thick. I propped the lid using two chopsticks so that it wouldn't splatter all over the place but would still allow steam to escape.
- Add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg (and any other spices you like) to taste. Add this at the end just because if you add it in the beginning, then cook it down, you'll probably end up with something way too sweet.
- If you want to can your pear butter, fill up sanitized, heated jars with the pear butter. Cover and process in a boiling water bath for at least 10 minutes. Let them sit overnight and then check them to make sure that the seal is tight. If not, you can reprocess it or put it in the fridge and eat it right away.

22 comments:

kirbie said...

Interesting! I would never had thought to make pear butter

Reeni said...

YUM!! I think I like this better than pear butter! I bet it's great with brie.

Jo said...

Truly interesting to me as I've never had pear butter before! It does sound delicious on sandwich though.

That Girl said...

I always think pears and apples are interchangeable substitutes. It's why I make pearsauce instead of applesauce.

Juliana said...

Oh! Pear butter, looks delicious...would like to try it sometime :-)...must be similar to apple butter?

MrsLavendula said...

i love preserves! these bottles look yummy!

Colleen said...

I have really been wanting to try some fruit butters - this looks great!

lisaiscooking said...

Lucky you to have all those pears! Your pear butter sounds great. You could use it to fill muffins or spread it on dough for cinnamon rolls or send some to me!

gaga said...

Spreading it on cinnamon rolls is a great idea! Thanks Lisa!

Carolyn Jung said...

I can barely believe it's autumn now. And you're already making a load of pear butter? How time flies, especially with this year. I will miss summer peaches and plums, but look forward to enjoying many, many pears to come.

Ju (The Little Teochew) said...

WOW! It looks so luscious and rich. I can imagine eating it with my fingers, straight from the bottle!

Joanne said...

Fruit butters are so yummy! I am not such a pear fan, but I bet I could just sub in apples for this. It would probably be great on Monte Cristo type sandwiches or even as a topping for some pork chops.

Shaheen said...

This is fabulous. I want to find some pears and make some.

Gar said...

i love pear. My fav is bosc pears.

Frugal Kiwi said...

Next time you might want to try a batch with ginger. That's what I made this year and it is fabulous. And a new experience for my darling man who is a Kiwi and never heard of fruit butters before I came along.

LaRon and jNae said...

My husband loves it on pancakes!

radha said...

Hi Gaga, you can try it as a dip for steamed meat or steamed fish, or one Tsp together with a pinch of chili on stirfried shrimps in the wok...

radha said...

In cosmetic, you culd mix a spoon of pearbutter with honey and use it while shower too! :-)

gaga said...

Radha - I've never considered using pear butter with fish. I'll give it a try. The pear butter spa treatments sound great!

Anonymous said...

I spoon it over plain yogurt for breakfast

gaga said...

mmmm, good idea!

Wandering Kotka said...

Thanks for posting this recipe! I found it via google while searching for ways to work through a windfall (literally!) of pears.

My batch turned out wonderfully and I can't wait to devour it!

Thanks again!