Pear butter gives all the flavors of autumn and is the perfect spread for bread, oatmeal, and yogurt. The best part of this is that it’s all made in the slow cooker so you don’t have to do any babysitting at the stove. Make this and be happy!
INGREDIENTS
• 10 lb pears
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp honey
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 12 whole cloves, crushed
• 6 whole cardamom pods, crushed
• 3 vanilla beans (or 1 tbsp vanilla extract)
INSTRUCTIONS
• Cut ripe pears into quarters and remove the core. Slice roughly into ½-inch pieces and place in a 7- or 8-quart slow cooker. Add lemon juice, honey, cinnamon sticks, and ground ginger. Place cloves and cardamon pods in a small cheesecloth bag and add to the pears. Slice vanilla beans in half lengthwise and remove the seeds with the back of a knife. Add seeds and pods to the slow cooker. Turn the cooker on high for 8 hours.
• After 8 hours, remove the lid and cook an additional 1-4 hours to cook off excess liquid.
• Once most of the liquid has cooked off, turn off the slow cooker and cool for 30 minutes. Blend in a blender in batches until smooth, 1-2 minutes.
• At this point, if freezing the pear butter, pour into airtight freezer containers and freeze. If canning in a water bath, bring the pear butter to a simmer on the stove.
• Remove and pour into sterilized 8-ounce canning jars. Fit with prepared lids and rings. Boil in a water bath for 10 minutes, making sure jars are covered by at least 1 inch of water.
• After 10 minutes, remove from the water bath and allow the jars to cool for 12-24 hours. The lids should seal within 1-2 hours. Any that do not seal can be placed in the refrigerator and used.
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