Canning Pear Butter

I was looking at the recipe for pear butter in The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving and pondering why they would give instructions that seem to me like the hard way of doing things. It actually took awhile for it to occur to me that people who don't do much canning might not even own a food mill. I was a little slow to figure things out, but I did finally realize that perhaps I should write both instructions.


My recipe for pear butter is reall basically the same as apple butter, except that I use a little less sugar.

Pear Butter
(Yield is about 4 half-pint jars for every dozen pears used)
(Printable Recipe)

Use one of the following methods to prepare the pulp. As always, I recommend using Fruit Fresh when cutting up the fruit.

Method 1: To prepare the pulp, first quarter the pears. Cook pears until they are soft (about 20 minutes) using just enough water to prevent sticking (enough to cover bottom of pan). Run the pears through a food mill.

Method 2: Peel, quarter and core pears. Cook pears until they are soft (about 20 minutes) using just enough water to prevent sticking (enough to cover bottom of pan). Process in a blender or food processor.

Measure pulp. For each quart of pulp, add 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cloves, and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Cook slowly until thick. At first you only have to stir occasionally, but as it thickens you will have to stir more often. The pear butter is ready when it will mound up on a spoon.

Fill hot canning jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Add lids and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

High altitude instructions
1,001 - 3,000 feet : increase processing time by 5 minutes
3,001 - 6,000 feet : increase processing time by 10 minutes
6,001 - 8,000 feet : increase processing time by 15 minutes
8,001 - 10,000 feet : increase processing time by 20 minutes

Read more...

Canning Pears

I mentioned a while ago that I was donating my jams to an auction for a girl who had her eye removed. My co-worker (the girls grandmother) said that the auction went well. I don't know the total amount that the auction brought in, but she said that my jams brought in about $100, so I am glad that I did it.

Now on with the topic of pears.

Pears are one of my favorite fruits, so it is exciting when the are ready to be picked. I think they taste best straight off from the tree, but when I don't have that, I still like my home canned ones better than store bought. I also like pear butter on my toast in the morning, so I will have to write a post about pear butter. For now, I am just writing about canning pears in syrup.




Once again, soak your fruit in Fruit Fresh as you peel it so that it doesn't turn brown.

I give instructions for light syrup, but you can use a heavier syrup (more sugar) if you want. For a heavy syrup use equal parts water and sugar. For medium syrup use 2 1/4 cups sugar and 5 1/4 cups water.



Pears in Light Syrup
(yield is about 4 quarts)

Printable Recipe

8 to 12 pounds pears, peeled, cored and cut in half.
5 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups sugar

Combine the water, and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Working in small batches, add some of the fruit and cook till fruit is heated through (about 5 minutes). Use a slotted spoon to fill the canning jars with fruit, and then ladle hot syrup over fruit. Leave 1/2 inch headspace. Add lids and process in a water bath. Process pints for 20 minutes or quarts for 25 minutes.

High altitude instructions
1,001 - 3,000 feet : increase processing time by 5 minutes
3,001 - 6,000 feet : increase processing time by 10 minutes
6,001 - 8,000 feet : increase processing time by 15 minutes
8,001 - 10,000 feet : increase processing time by 20 minutes

Read more...