Homemade Pear Butter

1. 1

   In a large saucepan combine the pears, vinegar, lemon zest, vanilla bean halves and salt. Cook gently over medium-low heat until the pears are very soft and begin to break up, about 30-40 minutes. Remove from heat and remove the vanilla bean, but do not discard.

2. 2

   Puree the pears in a food mill fitted with a fine plate, or use a spatula (and a little muscle) to force the pears through a fine sieve. Discard the very small amount of fibrous pulp that you won't be able to get through the sieve.

3. 3

   Scrape the seeds from the now cooled vanilla bean and add them, as well as the pear puree and sugar, to a clean pot over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring often, until the pear butter is thick and mounds high on a spoon, about 1-11/2 hours. Reduce the heat slightly as the mixture thickens to avoid it scorching on the bottom of the pot.

4. 4

   Fill sterilized 250ml jars and process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

5. 5

   Note:

6. 6

   In this year's batch, I used 2 whole star anise instead of the vanilla bean. I removed them before putting the pears through the sieve, and then added them back, whole, to the puree while it cooked. My instincts about a good match between the licorice and the pear were totally substantiated, and even the doubters (Howard) had to admit it was probably better than the vanilla version from last year.

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.

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