Homemade Pear Butter Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my pear butter not thickening? ›

If your pears are very juicy, you'll need to cook them longer so they reduce to the proper consistency for butter. If your pears are less ripe, they will contain more natural pectin that will gel and thicken the pear butter more quickly.

For every cup of pear purée, add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of sugar (adjust given the sweetness of the pears). Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the cardamom, nutmeg, and lemon zest. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Canning pears is an easy way to preserve the fruit for later enjoyment when the pears are at their ripest. For these canned pears, I'm using a light syrup ratio of a cup of sugar to a quart of water. You could also use apple juice or white grape juice as your canning liquid.

Lemon juice will give it a bit of an acid boost, which, along with the pinch of salt, acts to brighten up the pear flavor.

Your butter needs to be “room temperature”, or around 65ºF. If it is too cold, it won't blend with the sugar evenly and will be almost impossible to beat it into a smooth consistency; if it is too hot, the butter won't be able to hold the air pockets that you are trying to beat into it.

“Any conditions which tend to harden the butter-fat will require a comparatively high churning temperature; and any conditions tending to soften the butter-fat will require a lowering of the churning temperature.” In summer, I can pull the cream straight out of the fridge (at 40°F) to churn.

Also, have sterilized jars with lids and rings at hand. Cut the pears into quarters, remove the core, and peel. Slice quarters in thirds if working with large pears or into half in working with small pears. Place prepared pears in water with 1 tbsp of lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.

“If the fruit grew in dry weather, it often turns pink and cannot be prevented. While the color doesn't look right, the pears are safe to eat,” Blakeslee said. Additionally, garlic can become greenish or purple if it is immature or not completely dry before canning.

You can definitely still peel them if you like, or you can just be lazy like me and leave them intact. 2) I did not use sugar. At all. In many canning recipes, sugar acts as a preserving agent, however in canning peaches and pears, it is just for sweetness, which allows us to safely omit it.

Pears are wonderful eaten out of hand, but they also add elegance to tarts, pastries and other fall desserts. Poached whole in wine or transformed into compote, their flavor blends well with ginger, vanilla, orange peel, raisins and warm spices, such as clove and cinnamon.

Why are my pears tasteless? ›

If a pear is harvested too early before it is mature it will soften but be tasteless.

Bitter rot on apple and pear fruit is caused by the pathogenic fungi in the Colletrotrichum genus, specifically those species in the C. acutatum and C. gleosporioides species complexes. Bitter rot occurs only on fruit and can penetrate unbroken fruit skin.

Apple butter will thicken as it cools, so don't worry if it still looks a little runny in the slow cooker! If you still need to thicken your apple butter, you can continue to cook it uncovered in your crock pot or simmer it on the stove.

The first option is to unseal your jars and re-cook the jelly. Add more sugar, add some pectin, and you'll get your gel. Resterilize your jars, top with new lids, and process again.

In order for a jam to set, you need enough pectin and acid. If either are missing, the jam or jelly won't set. You can test for both pectin and acid levels.

You should not add flour or cornstarch to thicken apple butter. All you need to do is keep cooking it until more liquid evaporates.