Salted Caramel Pear Butter
This Salted Caramel Pear Butter is slow-cooked until thick, silky, and deeply caramel flavored. Made with fresh pears, dark brown sugar, apple cider, lemon juice, and a touch of salt, this tested Ball® recipe is perfect for preserving your pear harvest in little jars of fall goodness.
Equipment
- 1 crockpot or stockpot
- 1 water bath canner
- 4 half pint jars
- 1 set of canning supplies, lids, rings, funnel, debubbler
Ingredients
- 4 lbs ripe pears, peeled, cored, and chopped
- ⅓ cup apple cider
- 2 tbsp bottled lemon juice
- 2 ½ cups dark brown sugar
- 2 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
Instructions
1. Prepare the Pears
- Wash, peel, core, and coarsely chop the pears.
- Place the prepared pears in a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker with the apple cider and bottled lemon juice.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for approximately 40 minutes, or until the pears are soft.
2. Purée the Pears
- Turn off the slow cooker.
- Using an immersion blender, purée the cooked pear mixture until completely smooth. You can also carefully purée the pears in batches using a food processor.
3. Make the Salted Caramel Pear Butter
- Stir the dark brown sugar and salt into the pear purée.
- Turn the slow cooker back to HIGH.
- Position the lid slightly askew so steam can escape while the pear butter cooks.
- Cook for approximately 3–4 hours, stirring about every 30 minutes, until the pear butter has thickened, darkened, and holds its shape on a spoon.
4. Prepare for Canning
- Prepare your boiling-water canner.
- Keep your half-pint jars hot until you're ready to fill them. Wash the lids in warm, soapy water and set them aside with the bands.
5. Fill the Jars
- Ladle the hot salted caramel pear butter into hot half-pint jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace.
- Remove air bubbles and adjust the headspace if necessary.
- Wipe the jar rims, center the lids, and apply the bands until fingertip tight.
6. Water Bath Can
- Place the filled jars in your boiling-water canner. Make sure the jars are covered by at least 1 inch of water.
- Cover the canner and bring the water to a rolling boil.
- Process half-pint jars for 15 minutes, adjusting the processing time for your altitude.
- Turn off the heat, remove the canner lid, and allow the jars to sit in the canner for 5 minutes.
- Remove the jars and let them cool undisturbed for 12–24 hours.
- Check the seals before labeling and storing your jars.
- About the sugar: The Ball® recipe uses 2½ cups dark brown sugar for 4 pounds of prepared pears. This is the measurement I mean when referring to the Ball® Mason sugar ratio.For shelf-stable canning, follow the tested ingredient quantities, jar size, headspace, and processing instructions rather than reducing the sugar or changing the recipe proportions.Altitude: Adjust the water-bath processing time according to the recommendations for your elevation.