Pear Butter

We have a wonderful pear tree in our back yard. And my husband graciously spent time on Saturday picking some for us. You can't see it, but he's up on a step ladder in this picture.


I've never been a fan of pears, honestly. I didn't care for the gritty texture. When I was a kid, my mom would pack those little cans of fruit cocktail in my school lunch, and I'd eat everything but the pears.

These pears are different. I can't remember what variety they are, but they're very, very sweet and barely gritty at all. For the first time in my life, I enjoy eating pears! Apparently, this little turtle guy does, too. The kids found him under the tree, feasting on the pears that had already fallen to the ground.


Since I've never been a fan of pears, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the bountiful harvest. We passed some on to friends and neighbors, but had (and still have) a bunch left!


Then I hit on the idea of pear butter! I've made apple butter before, so I knew I could do it. And I made it even simpler by cooking the pears in the crockpot!

Here's the very simple recipe I used:

40 medium pears, peeled and diced (this took forever!)
1 cup sugar (less if your pears are sweet like mine)
2 teas cinnamon

Layer about half the pears in the crockpot. Sprinkle with half the sugar and 1 teas of cinnamon. Repeat layers. Cover and cook on low until the pears are mushy. This took about 5 hours. Stir a couple of times so the pears don't burn.

When the pears are very, very tender, use a potato masher to break them up. If you have an immersible stick blender, just put it in the pot and blend until smooth. Otherwise, put the mashed pears in a blender in batches and blend until smooth. Of course, if you prefer chunky pear butter, just skip the blender step all together.

Allow the pear butter to cool, then ladle into freezer jars. I got six 8-oz jars out of this recipe, with a little left over to eat on homemade bread. And let me tell you, that is the best way to eat pear butter!


For more yummy recipes, visit Blessed with Grace's Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.