CANNING: Salted Caramel & Coriander Spiced Pear Butter
Fall is the time for fresh pears, and also for canning. This salted caramel spiced pear butter recipe is not only delicious, it’s also easy! This rich, decadent canning recipe sounds much more complicated than it is. This is a simple water-bath canning recipe, but if canning scares you or you just don’t have time, it freezes beautifully as well!
It’s a fantastic way to use up less-than-perfect pears, and is delicious on hot biscuits, thumbprint or shortbread sandwich cookies, as a glaze for pork or chicken, as a sandwich spread for peanut butter or ham sandwiches, or even with a sharp cheddar on a grilled cheese, or as an accompaniment to a cheese board or charcuterie plate. It makes a festive homemade gift, on it’s own, or in a gift basket with other home-canned goodies or a jar of biscuit mix!
When I bought this house in 2016, some dear neighbors gave me a gift card to Home Depot, and with it, I bought a Bartlett pear tree to espalier along the fence. The “espalier” is more of a slightly fan-shaped pruning job now, but I’ve been happy to let it grow with more abundance than restraint for the past few seasons, as more branches means… more pears!
It’s been growing and the last couple years we’ve finally gotten a few pears, but this year was the first substantial harvest that left us with enough pears for a canning project. I wanted to make something special, that would stretch our precious little crop out more than just a couple quart jars of plain pears. My partner loves apple butter, so I thought I’d try an extra special pear butter with our first front-yard bounty, and this is absolutely just the thing.
You’ll need to commit to several hours of simmering to reduce it, but you can combine this with other projects or pop-in to the kitchen to stir it between Zoom meetings or episodes of whatever show you’re binge-watching, so it’s an easy project to squeeze in on a lazy day at home. You can also prep (wash, peel, core, and chop) the pears and freeze them in a gallon freezer bag until you have time to make this, if your pears are going off before you have time to simmer and can this sauce.
Prep for this salted caramel pear butter is simple- peel, core, and chop your pears, and simmer them in cider with a bit of lemon until tender. Then, you puree them into a smooth sauce, add spices, sea salt, and brown sugar, and simmer again until it reduces into a silky smooth sauce. If you want even more velvety smooth sauce, you can pass it through a food mill, tamis, or wire strainer to remove any larger gritty bits, but this is totally not necessary if you don’t want to.
Then, either freeze your sauce or fill clean canning jars, top with new canning lids, and process in a water bath for 15 minutes. That’s it!
Salted Caramel & Coriander Spiced Pear Butter
Equipment
- 1 heavy-bottomed jam or sauce pot At least 3 quarts in volume
- 1 immersion blender, blender, or food processor
- water bath canner or large stockpot with rack
- glass canning jars, rings, and new lids quarter pint (4 oz), half pint (8 oz), or pint (16 oz)
- jar lifters or tongs or jar rack with handles
- canning jar funnel (optional but helpful for filling the jars)
- small ladle or spoodle
- silicone or other heat-resistant spatula (optional but helpful)
Ingredients
- 4 pounds pears, washed, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped (pre-processing weight)
- ⅓-½ cup apple cider or pear juice (use more for drier or less ripe pears so they don't scorch)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (bottled for standardized acidity)
- 2 ½ cups brown sugar, tightly packed
- 1 tbsp Himalayan pink salt or sea salt
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground ginger
Instructions
Pear Butter:
- Combine prepared pears, cider/juice and lemon juice in a large heavy bottomed jam pot or saucepan.
- Bring to a simmer over med-high heat, stirring frequently, then reduce heat to low, cover, and stir often to prevent scorching. Simmer until pears are soft (this will vary depending on the ripeness of your pears, but up to 30-45 minutes).
- Remove from heat. Carefully puree the pear mixture with an immersion blender, or in batches in a blender or food processor. Return pear puree to cooking pot (if you didn't use an immersion blender).
- Add the remaining ingredients- brown sugar, salt, and spices- and return to medium-low heat. Return to a simmer and stir often.
- Let pear butter simmer uncovered until it is quite thick, glossy, and caramel colored- this should take several hours. As the mixture reduces, lower the heat and stir more often to prevent scorching. Your spatula or spoon should leave a clear trail as you stir when the butter is finished.
- You can cool and freeze in appropriate containers for 6-12 months, refrigerate in clean jars for up to a few weeks, or can the pear butter for longer shelf life (recommended).
Water-Bath Canning Instructions
- Fill your water bath canner with water to a height that will cover your jars by several inches with room to boil vigorously. Wash your jars and lids with hot soapy water, rinse, and place the jars (but not the lids) in the canner as you bring the water up to a simmer (do this while the pear butter is almost finished).
- Protect your work surface- I like to use a baking sheet pan lined with an old kitchen towel. Remove your canning jars from the canner (carefully, with tongs or jar lifters, tilting them out of the hot water) just before filling and place them on the sheet pan or counter lined with a towel- this helps protect them from temperature shocks and also makes for easier clean-up!
- Using a jar funnel if you have one, ladle the hot pear butter into the hot jars. Leave between ¼-½" of headspace at the top of the jars (slightly more if you are using reusable-style lids with gaskets like Weck or Tattler).
- Debubble the jars with a thin spatula, spoon, or debubbling tool, and wipe the tops of the jars with a clean paper towel or lint-free cloth that has been dipped in hot water or vinegar.
- Place the canning lids on the clean jar tops and screw down the rings- don't overtighten, just snug. Using your jar lifter, tongs, or the canning jar rack, carefully place the hot filled jars in the hot canner.
- Make sure you have adequate water covering the jars (at least 2" over the tops of the jars). Top up with water from a hot kettle if needed.
- Start the timer for your water bath after the water is at a rolling boil and all jars are in the canner. Process for 15 minutes (adjust for altitude if applicable) and then turn off the heat. Remove jars from the canner after 5 minutes, and place back on the towel-covered sheet pan or counter (put down a fresh towel if you spilled while filling the jars).
- Leave jars to cool slowly in a draft-free place. Do not touch rings until the jars are completely cool and sealed and do not stack jars.
- After jars are cooled and seals are set (I leave them at least overnight but no more than 24 hours), check that all jars are sealed, carefully wash jars, label them, and remove rings before storing.
- Sealed jars with metal lids will not flex when the seal is pressed, and the lid has a firm vacuum seal with the jar. Any jars that did not seal can be reprocessed the same day with new lids (check the jar tops again for chips and the ring for dents), or immediately refrigerated and used first.