Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[Angie]

I have just dealt with all the plums from my tree....jams , sauces, syrup and stewed for the freezer for future pies, crumbles.....really sick of the sight of them actually.

Now the Pears will be ready soon and I do not want to waste any this year. So Please does anyone have a recipe for Pear Butter ?

I intend to brandy syrup loads of them in jars, even jam and some chutney. But like to try a Butter, is it possible or is it mostly an apple thing ?

[bluekarin]

I have just found this website and it appears very informative

 

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/fresh_fruit_butter.html

 

I've never thought about making fruit butters but they do sound very nice and seem to have much less sugar or added sugar than a jam.

[Daphne]

The other thing you might like to consider is drying them. We bought some whole small pears dried recently and they were lovely, they made us wonder about getting a dehydrator. I can imagine the pears in syrup and the chutney and jams would make lovely Xmas presents if you wanted to diminish your stockpiles

[Angie]

Thank you ,

I like the reduced sugar content of the butter rather than jam , and I want to give it a try before the pears ripen, I also like the idea of drying them too, I might do some in the oven see if I like them.

A dehydrator sounds good too as I hate wasting the fruits in the garden and it would get used every year.

[Angie]

The pears are starting to fall, so I guess i'll be busy for the next week or so, got my pan and sugar ready, just want to give the pears as long as I can on the tree , which I don't think will be more than a few days.

I will try a cheese too.

[Angie]

I made my first batch of pear butter today and my goodness it is rather delicious .

For every 5lbs of pears you actually need 6 lbs to allow for the wastage of peel , core etc, but it is good.

I will make more tomorrow .

I have done 10lbs of pears into brandy syrup in the mid size kilner jars in Sainsbury's it used almost a whole bottle of Brandy but I'm sure OH will appreciate them come Christmas, he approves of the butter. ( He is home on leave at present.)

[bluekarin]

Thanks to this post, I have made my first ever plum butter! I left the skins on as the plum flesh was a rather pale yellow, and I am glad I did as it's a gorgeous deep red colour. I had 4 cups of plums so did half a cup of sugar and the rind and juice of one tangerine plus a cup of water. It is quite sharp, but I think that's a good thing. Made one 450g jar. I have had a small taster amount on my raspberry bakewell with cream. Rather delicious

 

A quick note about the bakewell - it's on BBC food and it's a go to staple. I didn't have enough almonds, flaked and ground, so used some marzipan grated in the cake and then on top to replace the flaked almonds. It worked rather well and has a nice crusty almonds topping. Will be doing that again

[Angie]

bluekarin , that sounds delicious, I will look it up on the BBC . I have been urged to make some apple butter for the Christmas pork OH says he will be having .

He too has had to open a jar of butter for a taste and won't give it back! He is searching the net for other fruit butters....I think I have created a monster !

[bluekarin]

I made an apple butter yesterday. The apples were looking slightly wrinkly in the fruit bowl so thought instead of throwing them away as no one would eat them, I'd make the butter. I used fruit sugar as was low on others and used half the amount you are meant to, but it tastes lovely. I used the recipe on Lakeland website. Hope it keeps alright.

[Daphne]

I've just looked up all the sites mentioned and Wikipedia and I am confused

 

a) do you think butters use more, less, or just the same amount of sugar as a jam?

b) do you think butters will store for less or the same amount of time as a jam? I've read that if you use a 'water bath' then the results will last for a year, but only 3 weeks in the fridge otherwise. I need a longer shelf life than 3 weeks, but I can't really understand why the water bath would make so much difference?

c) How long are you thinking of keeping your butters and what did you cook them in?

 

Many thanks

[bluekarin]

I think they use less sugar. I cooked mine in a pan. I sterilised the jars by pouring in freshly boiled water and leaving it in for at least 15 mins. I don't think they are meant to last as long as a jam as the lower sugar means less preservative action I'd think. Not sure about the wart bath method either. When I had filled my jars and put the lids on, after about half an hour or so, impressed the lids and the lid popped down and didn't pop back up again. I think that means no air can get in and should last longer. I hope that's the case anyway. I am keeping mine in the fridge, where I keep all jam anyway. Hope that's of some help