Pear Butter & An Apple Party!

Remember the other day when I mentioned how it's harvest season in our orchard and so you can expect to be drowned in posts about the orchard, apples, pears and quince? Peddling our fruit, farmers markets and selling to the amish neighbors? Well, I thought it'd be fun to make a 'party' out of this season that is such a big deal for us over at Apolloson Acres!

So, once a week for about the next 2 and a half-ish months or so, lets have an 'Apple Harvest Party'. I'll post it up every Wednesday and you can link up with any recipe, idea or use that you have for Apples....or Pears....or Quince! But for the sake of sanity, I am just calling it the 'Apple' party! But really, if you have something you do with Quince, please share, because when they start harvesting in the orchard, they don't sell out like our Pears and lord knows I have yet to do anything successful with them!

Ok - let's get this party started! This week I am sharing my recipe for Pear Butter - enjoy! Now link up* with a post from your blog on something you do with Apples, Pears or Quince!

*Let's partake in the common blogging courtesy to check out the links of others participating and to link back to my blog post in yours :) *

Pear Butter

You will need:

-About 4 pounds of Pears, peels and diced – whichever variety you would like. I mix varieties of whatever I have on hand.
-5 Cups, Apple Cider
-2.5 C, Light Brown Sugar
-1.5 Tsp, Cinnamon
-1.5 Tsp, Nutmeg
-1/8 Tsp, Ground Clove
-2 Tbs, Vanilla extract
In a non-reactive dutch oven-type pot (I use an enamel coated pot – like a Le Creuset, but a knock off!) bring the cider to a boil and reduce it by about half. Then add in your chopped pears and cook them down. As they cook down, mash ‘em up a bit. Once they become soft and translucent, puree the mix in batches in a food processor or blender, or if you have an immersion blender, you can do it all right in the pot.

At this point, if you have a baby not yet on solids, this ‘Pear Puree’ would be perfect to let him indulge in! I have a 4 month old and I cannot wait to let him try this! And, feel free to add in the spices too if you think your tot will enjoy it!

Once the mixture is pureed, put it back into the pot, add the spices, and cook it down over a med/med-high heat until it thickens. You know your stove top best so you chose the heat level. Just keep a close eye on it stirring often so the bottom doesn’t scorch.

Depending on how much you like your spices, you can dabble with the actual measurements you put in.
Once the mixture has cooked down to a thick consistency, you are ready to ladle it into your prepped, hot canning jars. Prepare them, with lids & bands (if you use ‘em) and drop your jars into a water bath for 15 minutes. I usually make one jar w/o a sealing lid to go directly into the fridge. I recommend eating it within a week once opened.

Warm Pear Butter on a warm roll with some Peanut Butter is ABSOLUTE heaven to me Enjoy!