Photo by The Saucy Coq
“THIS IS NOT BUTTER” you might say if you were with a group of your snobby friends. Call it what you will, but this Pear Cardamom Butter is very, very good. Think apple sauce here, but more interesting.
You can make a butter from almost any fruit by just stewing it down with some liquid and sugar until it has reached a very thick consistency. Apple butter is likely the most common form, but this Pear Cardamom Butter is fantastic. You can have it with granola in the morning, serve it with pork chops or jerk chicken at dinner, or have it with peanut butter! What else would you use it for?
I found this recipe on www.shutterbean.com and tried it out last week to give to my sister for her birthday (Happy Bday Harmony!). I will definitely make it again, but might not cook it down so much as this recipe only gave me four (half-pint) jars full. I am not going to give a lesson on canning because there are much better teachers out there. Namely, Google.
- 6 pounds pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
I use my Dutch Oven for jams and sauces, but use whatever you’re used to. Get a nice heavy pot on the element and fill it with all of the great smelling things that you’ve prepped. Pears, lemon, sugar, salt and all of the spices. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Lower the heat, and continue to stir. You really want the pears to break down, so try helping them along after about 15 minutes with a wooden spoon or potato masher.
After about an hour, remove the pot from the heat and blend the pears with an immersion blender in the pot until you’ve reached the desired consistency. My immersion blender actually broke (albeit a year ago) so I just used my blender. Save yourself the mess and use an immersion blender if you can.
Return the pear butter to the heat, and simmer over medium-high heat for 20 minutes longer, or until butter mounds on a chilled spoon.
Ladle butter into sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Check for air bubbles, wipe the rims and seal.
Place the jars in boiling hot water for 10 minutes. Note that you really don’t have to have all of the proper canning tools to do this. I only preserve things every once in a while so I just stick with using regular pots, kitchen tongs and a funnel. The only important step is to be sure you sterilize the jars properly. There are many sites out there to read up on the canning process if you like.
If you’re going to make just a fraction of this recipe to use within a couple of days, you don’t have to worry about the jarring process. Spoon into a nice serving dish and enjoy the fruits of your labour! Yes, I went there.
