Pear Butter Recipe

A bit of orange and nutmeg in this pear butter recipe makes it delicious.

When canning pear butter you can safely process in a Water Bath Canner.

Prepare

Gather your canning supplies

water bath canner
canning jars
canning seals and rings
jar lifter
canning funnel
large pot
bowls
large spoons
sharp knife
towels and dish cloths
ladle

Ingredients

Pears - 7 pounds
Sugar- 2 cups
1 tsp grated orange peel
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup orange juice

Procedure

First you will need to make pear sauce. Wash, peel and core your pears.
Combine with 1/2 cup water in a large pot. Simmer until pears are soft. Puree in a food mill or food processor or just mash them with a potato masher and wisk. Don't overdo it if you use a food processor. You just want to puree them, not make pear juice!
Place pear sauce in your crock pot. Add sugar, orange juice, orange peel, and nutmeg. Stir to combine.

Cook with the lid askew allowing moisture to escape and sauce to thicken. It will get smoother as it cooks so if it is a bit lumpy at first it is not a huge problem. Total cook time may be 8-10 hours. If you have a splatter screen you can place this over the top and leave the lid off. This allows the moisture to escape but keeps the butter from splattering all over your counter. As it gets thicker it may splatter.

Stir occasionally. Or give it a good stir and let cook overnight.... your kitchen will smell fantastic in the morning. Only do the overnight cook if your cooker will cook at a nice low temperature. I have a crockpot that cooks everthing a bit too high and if I left this overnight it would scorch for sure. Or plan on rising several times during the night and stirring the pear butter.

When the pear butter is the consistency you like, pack in jars and process.

Spoon hot pear butter into hot jars. Leave 1/4 inch headspace. Place your lids and rings on the jars and place in the canner.

Process for the time listed below. Be sure to adjust for your altitude.

How to use a water bath canner.

Process

pints or 1/2 pints - process for 10 minutes

Altitude Adjustments for Boiling Water Bath Canner
Altitude in Feet	Increase processing time
1001-3000	5 minutes
3001-6000	10 minutes
6001-8000	15 minutes
8001-10,000	20 minutes