Just before Christmas pears were on sale at Market Basket, so I picked up enough to squeeze in one more canning recipe before the end of the year. This recipe, although it seems more like a seasonal thing, you might want to give away to friends and neighbors in the fall or around the holidays, because this recipe for pear butter is absolutely DELICIOUS.
It really is the perfect bit of goodness to spread on toast, or to use as a side condiment for roast turkey or chicken. So for those of you wanting to hang on to cinnamon and nutmeg season just a little longer…. This would be a wonderful recipe to try this winter.
~Mavis
Ingredients
6 pounds firm pears {I used D’Anjou}
1/2 cup water
4 cups sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
Fill a boiling-water canner about 2/3 rds full with water and bring it to a boil.
Peel, core and slice pears. Combine pears and 1/2 water in a large pot and simmer until the pears are soft. Using a food mill, puree the pears making sure not to liquefy the pears. You want pulp, not juice.
Measure 8 cups pear pulp and combine the pulp with 4 cups sugar in a large pot until the sugar dissolves. And remaining ingredients and cook until the pear butter is nice and thick enough to mound up on a spoon. As the mixture thickens, make sure to stir it frequently to prevent sticking.
Ladle hot pear butter mixture into 1/2 pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Adjust 2 piece caps, and process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes making sure water covers the tops of the jars by at least 2 inches.
Remove jars and place on a towel to cool. After 24 hours check the seals. If the lid springs back, jam is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.
One recipe makes {8} 8 ounce jars or {4} pints. You can find the canning jars I used HERE.
Looking for a few more canning recipes? Search my Full List of Canning Recipes
Looking for a good canning book? Here’s a list of my favorites:
- Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
- The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook
- Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It
- Food in Jars
- The Amish Canning Cookbook
- Not Your Mama’s Canning Book
Also, check out these tutorials if you’ve never used a canner before:
Tutorial: Hot Water Bath Canning
Tutorial: How to Use a Pressure Canner
Carrie says
We have been making your Apple Butter recipie for years and also using it for Pear Butter. We leave out the sugar to make it sugar free and I put it in the crockpot in the morning and can it after the kids have gone to sleep. They eat it almost every morning on their breakfast (we also use many of tour pancake and waffle recipes!). Last year we made 42 pint jars if pear butter and ran out in the summer. Try it on your pumpkin waffles (we also make those sugar free). It is the best topping!
Ann says
Love the new look of your website. Color-coordinated teal signature, front door and dyed wool bundle make for an eye-pleasing trio! Thank you for sharing yourself, congrats on ten years and please keep up the good work. Can’t wait for gardening season!
Amanda N Tirado says
Mavis, I use the same recipe and I add some vanilla bean to it and it is amazing! The vanilla kicks it up just a notch.
Diane says
Do you have to use a food mill to get the right consistency or can I use a blender? I hate to buy another gadget for my crowded cupboards!
Mavis Butterfield says
I have only ever used a food mill for apple and pear butters. If you use a blender just be really careful not to liquefy your pulp or it will be runny and not set.
Carrie Koehnke says
I suppose it may not be the traditional way to make it, but we just mash it like apple sauce and like it mice and chunky. It is the lazy/tired mom version…
CherylV says
All I have is a blender and not an immersion one to make it easier, so you and I Diane, have to peel and core.
Sharon says
Made this pear butter yesterday and it is delicious. I only added about 3/4 cup of sugar as my pears were pretty sweet. I decided to put the pears in the blender instead of the food mill and did a quick blend and they turned out perfect.