D'Anjou Pears for Pear Butter?

[digitS']

They should be okay for that, right?

I used to make pear butter with Bartlett pears regularly. Man, that all went out the window when I started growing such a large garden. No time for "other people's" produce during the harvest season! I was just checking around for when the last of the Bartletts were available and it looks like the first of October there were some (very ripe).

D'Anjou pears are available out of storage way late in the winter. I no longer have the Northern Spy apples out of Dad's backyard to fill my "Butter-Making Time." But, I miss that pear butter even more . . .

Steve

 

[digitS']

Third store I checked - had Bartletts!

Oh, the wonders of food industry technology.

I know that they were locally harvested beginning in early September. I may even have to wait a day or 2 for them to be fully ripe!

Steve

 

[Jared77]

Lucky find for you! Pear butters always good, we made peach butter a few years back when we had peach trees at the old house. That was good stuff. You should try it sometime.

 

[digitS']

You know, Jared, there are still peaches in the markets. Sure.

Peach butter, eh?

I used to can one thing - apricot jam. If you think about that apricot harvest time and how I have had trouble getting back to pear butter, you can see that things have changed. Yep, it is mostly age but, gosh, I'm busy now and then! (One important reason for me to make apricot jam was that it was "rent" on a vacant lot that I turned into my vegetable garden about 25 years ago - the only rent I paid. The apricot tree had a nice crop every year and the property owner's home was about 30 miles away. So, I made jam and mailed it to him .)

Steve

 

[bobm]

My wife also makes plum jam, best made with French Prunes . Very good on jelly sandwiches, but best as a topping on Kugelis.

 

[digitS']

Kugelis? I had to look that up, Bob? Potatoes?!

My parents made plum jam just by boiling their French prunes - no sugar added. I'm pretty sure it was "freezer jam," which is the way I'll go with the pear butter. Somewhere around here I've got all those small tupperware containers I used to use for the apple butter.

That French petite prune was also my contribution to their backyard. Of course, after I hit it with the lawnmower and it developed bark borer problems, Dad decided to replace it with another French petite prune. That was a nice affirmation and it only took a decade or so before it was about the same size as the one I slayed :/.

Steve

 

[digitS']

Thirteen good-sized pears went in the pot! (I ate the 14th yesterday .)

Cooked down to 10 cups of pulp to which was added 5 cups of sugar . . ! Oh, I gotta get back to better behavior .

Lightly spiced with cinnamon and ginger. You can imagine what that smelled like for a friend dropping over on her way home from church . I used my usual technique of scared to stop stirring since it might burn/scared to continue stirring since it may spatter. Done! And, so good!

Steve

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

ooooh, i can't wait till my pears start producing. i hope it wont take 6 years for mine to give me something. enjoy them Digits!

 

[bobm]

Steve, those recipes for Kugelis on google are wanna be's ... here is the real thing that I wrote down from my grandmother ( born in 1888 in Lithuania) while she was making it at age 97 ( she was very spry, bright and did household and gardening chores every day) a year before she passed on . Course / med. grate 5 pounds of potatoes ( after pealing them place in water to prevent browning, then after grating squeeze out liquid) . Dice 1 pound of sliced bacon ( place in skillet and render down until almost crisp . Set aside the bacon but keep the rendered fat.) Fine chop 2 med. to lg. onions ( place in pan with bacon fat and cook until light golden brown. Then return the bacon to the skillet and set aside ) 1 can of evaporated milk and 1 cup milk. 8 eggs, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, add 1 1/2 tsp. pepper. 1 clove minced garlic.( beat the eggs , then add the evaporated milk + milk and mix, add in the bacon + onion with the bacon fat + garlic . Then add the potatoes and mix well). Place the mixture into greased 5" x 9" x 2 1/2" pans ( or other sized pans at least 2" deep ) almost to the top and bake at 350 for 1 hour +/- until the kugelis starts to separate from the sides, top is golden brown and the toothpick comes out dry. The mixture may take several batches depending on the pan used. Allow to cool, slice into 3/8 " - 1/2" thick slices, then place in a hot skillet ( bacon fat, butter, or veg. oil) and lighty brown the 2 sides . Place onto a dish and top with plum ( the best ) preserves / jam. ( blueberry , any other berry or apricot preserves/ jams are good too). Serve with any meat or fish. Also very good all by itself ! Just like potato chips ... you just can't eat just one ! An alternate to regular whole potatoes ... I use 2 20 oz. bags of store bought shredded Hash Browns and add 1 package ( I use the "Honest Earth" all natural Creamy Mash Potatoes in 6.4 oz. and follow directions to make the mashed potatoes. In the egg + milk mixture add the mashed potatoes and stir very well to get out all lumps, then add the hash browns straight from the packages and mix well ) , Follow the above bakeing procedure.

 

[austintgraf]

I love pear butter! My favorite however is pumpkin butter which is an amazing fall treat on biscuits! My mother used to make it, and in it is just a comforting food to me I suppose, but it is a perfect season to try it! You might give it a go! Just an idea!