Make several jars of pear butter for yourself or to give to friends! Delicious on toast, yogurt or ice cream! Canning instructions included.
Peel, core and slice pears; place them in large Dutch oven or stockpot. Add sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and nutmeg; stir to combine. Cook 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally; remove pan from heat.
Use slotted spoon to remove pears from pan; transfer to large bowl. Leave "juice" in the stockpot.
Fill blender halfway with hot pears (do this in batches). Hold the lid on securely; blend on low speed for a few seconds, then increase speed just until pears are pureed and smooth. Pour "puree" back into the pot with the juice. Repeat until all pears are blended and added back to pot. Continue cooking on LOW heat, stirring occasionally, for approx. 60 minutes.
Pear butter is done when it can be mounded on a spoon (without running) OR by using a method I call the "Frozen Plate Thing". Frozen plate method is a way to test thickness when no pectin has been added. Plan ahead, as you need to put a plate in the freezer for an hour before you need it. After cooking pea butter, grab the plate out of the freezer. Put a teaspoon of hot pear butter onto frozen plate. If pear butter "sets up" and doesn't run on the plate within the first minute, it's ready. If it's too runny, put plate back in the freezer; Continue to cook pear butter a few more minutes. Try again- once pear butter will set up, it's ready, and can be refrigerated in airtight containers or jars for immediate use.
To can pear butter for long term storage, follow manufacturer instructions for preparing water bath canner, heating jars, flat lids and screwbands. This recipe will yield between 5-6 cups of pear butter.
Use any combination of half-pint or pint sized jars that you have. Ladle hot pear butter into pre-heated jars, being sure to leave a ¼" headspace. Insert a plastic knife or utensil several times to remove air bubbles. Wipe rims of jars until clean with a damp cloth. Add flat lid and screwband (ring) to each jar; tighten ring to fingertip tightness.
Place jars on wire rack; lower rack carefully into simmering water in canner. Make sure water level is 1" OVER the top of the jars (add more hot water if necessary). Turn heat up; bring to a gentle, rolling boil. Process jars for 10 minutes after water comes to a boil. When done, use canning tongs to remove jars from canner. Set hot jars on a dish towel (not directly on counter) to cool.
Let jars cool for 12 hours (or overnight) without moving them. You should hear jars "pop" as they seal. If sealed properly, there should be no give when you press down on the middle of the lid with a finger after jars have cooled. Test seal on each jar- if there is a "good seal", then jars can be stored safely long-term. Any jars that do not properly seal are not safe to store long-term, but can be refrigerated and used as needed.
NOTE: Caloric calculation was made assuming 5 cups is total quantity of pear butter made, with each serving equal to one Tablespoon.
Pear Butter (no pectin) https://www.thegratefulgirlcooks.com/pear-butter/