This past weekend was everything I love about Fall.
Long walks with friends in the crisp autumn air. Lazy mornings enjoyed at the coffee shop nextdoor. Days snuggled in cozy sweaters and fluffy slippers. Turning leaves everywhere on fire with color. Catching up on episodes of my favorite fall shows, and then watching a moving book club pick come to life in the theater with friends. Taking full advantage of Daylight Savings Time to sleep in an extra hour. Sunday morning worship and words.
And of course, in my opinion, all good weekends must include some quality time in the kitchen.
This particular weekend was all about the pears for me. Ever since my trip in October to visit Harry & David, I have been craving pears nonstop. And then somehow buying them nonstop. :)
So to use up a few leftover ripe pears this weekend, I decided to make a quick small batch of stovetop pear butter. It’s basically like apple butter — but with pears!
This is no all-day, enormous batch, canning recipe though. Just an easy pear butter recipe that can be ready to go in 1 hour. It’s also naturally sweetened with honey, so you can feel good about generously layering a little extra onto your toast or muffin or wherever you may enjoy your pear butter.
I’ll add it to my list of things I love about fall. It’s seasonal, full of yummy spices, and oh-so-comforting and sweet.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Easy Pear Butter
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. ripe pears, peeled, cored and diced
- 3 Tbsp. honey
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- pinch of groud nutmeg
- pinch of ground cloves
Instructions
- Stir all ingredients together in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 50 minutes, covering so that the lid is slightly open, and stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on the mixture so that the bottom does not burn. Once it has reduced slightly and thickened, remove from heat and transfer to a food processor. Pulse until smooth. (Or you can skip this step and keep the pear butter chunky.)
- Transfer to canning jars or a heat-proof container, seal, and refrigerate until ready to use. Keep for up to a week.
- *If your pear butter is too thin, feel free to run the mixture through a strainer to remove extra liquid. Alternately, let the mixture simmer on the stove longer to reduce more.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
i just made this. very tasty. i will use it with my stuffed pork loin and as a tasty spread/sauce. i froze some for later when i will add it to my roasted squash soup. love the spice choices.
Can you start this on stove top, then run it through a mill, and then put in crock pot to finish cooking to get thick?
Hi Ruth! We haven’t tried that, but we think you would probably be okay to just cook it entirely on the stove.
Is there a substitute I can use for lemon juice?
Hi Martha! Unfortunately we can’t think of a good substitute for lemon juice in this particular recipe (it gives the pear butter a nice hint of acidity and helps balance out the sweetness).
I can sterilize the jars to put the butter in but how do I need to seal them?
Also I want to send a jar to a friend and it will likely take 3-4 days by mail, will it be alright if it is out of refrigeration that long? Many thanks.
Hi Sharon, we’re sorry for just now responding to your comment! We haven’t tried canning this long-term ourselves, and unfortunately don’t have a lot of experience with canning, so it’s hard for us to say. Do you have a canning kit?
Thank you!!! I bought a huge bag of pears on sale and was stuck for something to do with them. I think this will make my house smell delicious while it cooks!
Awesome, Danielle — we hope you enjoy this! :)
My mother used to make this with the leftover pear skins from canning. She just covered the tops of the jars with paraffin, and we enjoyed it all winter. Wax never seemed to work for me. Can it be caned in a water bath?
Hi John! We haven’t tried canning this for long term, but we think if you followed the traditional method for canning fruit preserves/butters, then you should be good. We hope you enjoy this!
I would like to make this pear butter to can so we have it through the year it says only a week .. How can I do it for longer … I’m new to canning .. Thank you
Hi Gerie! We haven’t used the traditional canning method for this, but you definitely can, as long as you have the materials. There are a number of guides and tutorials out there, and here is just one of many:
I’m making this right now with pears from our tree and it smells like heaven in our house! I do have a question, is it really only good for one week if sealed in a canning jar?
Hi Audri! Yes, that’s correct. However, you can definitely follow the traditional canning method for jams/fruit butters which will preserve it for longer. We hope you enjoy!
I put pears in crockpot last night around 8 p.m. and kept on through night. Just checked and it’s more like applesauce consistency, watery. How can I thicken? I don’t want to keep going in crockpot for a burnt taste?
Hi Nikki! Hmmm, we have to say we haven’t tried this in the crockpot before. However, if your pear butter is too thin, feel free to run the mixture through a strainer to remove extra liquid. Alternately, let the mixture simmer on the stove longer to reduce more. We hope this helps!
Was hoping to make this and use canning jars. How long will it be ok for??
Hi Missy! If canned appropriately, this may last for up to a year. We hope you enjoy!