This is a delicious recipe for pear butter. I used her idea for the pear butter, and adapted my crock pot apple butter recipe, using her spice suggestions for the pear butter. It is an amazing recipe. It is not as heavily spiced as apple butter. The flavor of the butter is lightened with fresh lemon. The spices are not as intense. Star anise, ginger, and nutmeg compliment the pears so nicely. This is a very comforting flavor you can enjoy all year long. Making the pear butter in the crock pot is so easy. It will fill your home with the most lovely fragrances. Just add about 2 tablespoons of brown sugar for every pear. Pack your crock pot full of pears, so you will have lots of pear butter to can. You can adjust your seasonings to taste. This recipe will produce almost 4 pint jars. It makes the perfect gift for the holidays, tied with a pretty ribbon, and perhaps some homemade bread.
Yield: Serves 4
16 pears, of any variety, peeled, cored, and chopped or sliced
4 cups water
2 cups packed brown sugar
the juice of 2 lemons
2 whole star anise
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Peel and core pears. Add to crock pot. Add water, sugar and spices. Turn crock pot to high and bring to a bubble. Turn on low and cook for 6-8 hours. Stir the pears about every hour or two. Pear butter is done when it has a deep color, pears are cooked to pieces, and it has thickened. Do not forget to remove the star of anise cloves before pureeing. You may want to use an immersion blender to puree the butter more.
You can jar the pear butter by purchasing canning jars, sterilizing them, and running them in a water bath.