Caramel Pear Butter

Submitted by Mom2Rose

"Source: Bon Appétit (October 2008) Yield: Makes about eight 1/2 -pint jars"

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 30mins
• Ingredients: 6
• Yields: 8 1/2 pint jars
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 1⁄4 cup apple juice
• 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
• 7 lbs bartlett pears, ripe
• 3 cups golden brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground
• 3⁄4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

directions

1. Combine apple juice and 4 tablespoons lemon juice in heavy large deep pot.
2. Peel, core, and cut pears, 1 at a time, into 1/2- to 3/4-inch pieces; mix pears into juice mixture in pot as soon as pears are cut, to prevent browning.
3. Cook over medium heat until pears release enough juice for mixture to boil, stirring frequently, about 16 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until pears are very tender, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes (mixture will splatter).
5. Remove pot from heat.
6. Press pear mixture through fine plate of food mill into large bowl.
7. Return pear puree to same pot.
8. Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice, brown sugar, nutmeg, and 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt.
9. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.
10. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered until pear butter thickens and is reduced to 8 cups, stirring every 5 minutes to prevent scorching, about 1 hour.
11. Ladle pear butter into 8 hot clean 1/2-pint glass canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch space at top of jars.
12. Remove air bubbles.
13. Wipe jar threads and rims with clean damp cloth.
14. Cover with hot lids; apply screw bands.
15. Process jars in pot of boiling water 10 minutes.
16. Cool completely.
17. Store in cool dark place up to 1 year.

Reviews

[Jackie H.]

I was goint to submit this, but found yours. I was given 50 ponds of pears recently, and needed to do something with them. This was soooo good, not to spicy. I did make a few changes. I added vanilla, and did not peel my pears. I used a food processer insted of a food mill. I made four batches of this and put it up into pint jars insted of half pint. This will become one of my yearly canning projects.

 

[LonghornMama]

Very good! I had a ton of pears to use and this was one of the recipes I made. Halved the recipe which worked well (usually not a good idea with canning), and used a stick blender rather than a food mill for blending smooth. Thanks for sharing the recipe!