PEAR BUTTER APPLE PEAR BUTTER

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: Make fruit butter in the oven to eliminate spattering and stirring : PRESERVING : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Roberts-Dominguez Archive : Columnists : Recipes : Apple Butter : Caramel and Cardamom Pear Butter : : By Jan Roberts-Dominguez : There is no butter in apple butter. But there's plenty of apple, and a whole lot of flavor. So during the Northwest apple harvest -- and the pear harvest, too -- consider putting up several batches of this old-fashioned treat. : For many years, the only problem I had with making fruit butters was the mess that resulted from the lava-like glops of thick fruit puree erupting from the pot during cooking. There was also a certain amount of risk involved to any bare skin in the path of this flying fruit. : You see, fruit butter prepared on top of the stove has to be stirred almost constantly to keep it from sticking and burning, which puts you directly in the line of fire. : Finally, however, I learned from a veteran preserver, Sylvia Hurd, that primo fruit butters can be created in the oven, or even on the counter if you're lucky enough to have an electric roaster. : For 27 years, beginning in the early 1940s, Sylvia sold her wonderful preserves in front of the family house on the Sunset highway, just 10 miles from Seaside. Because her preserves were so popular, Sylvia was always looking for the most efficient way to produce them without undermining quality. Which is how she came to perfecting the electric roasting technique for her fruit butters. : She began by cooking 10 or 11 pounds of quartered apples in a bit of water until they had softened to mush. After putting the cooked apples through a food mill, she obtained a wonderful sweet pulp. To 10 cups of this apple pulp, she would stir in 5 cups of sugar, some spices ("Mostly cinnamon, but a little cloves too. Just to suit your taste," she told me) and ½ cup of vinegar. She'd pour this mixture into her 2-gallon electric roaster and cook the puree, partially covered, all day on a low setting, which would make the house smell more delicious than any apple-scented candle ever could. : Since I didn't happen to have one of those old-fashioned electric roasters around, Sylvia assured me that I could achieve decent results in an oven, which is how the following recipe for apple butter was created. I adapted the recipe to conform more with her original formula and preparation style. She says that preparing apple butter in the oven is not as good as the turkey roaster method, but it turns out much better than batches made on top of the stove, because you can cook it for a longer time, "without the butter plopping all over the top of your stove." : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : APPLE PEAR BUTTER : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1 tsp. cinnamon (per gal. : pulp) : 1/2 tsp. ginger (per gal. : pulp) : 1/2 tsp. cloves (per gal. : pulp) : 3 Tbsp. lemon juice (per gal. : pulp) : white or brown sugar (1/2 as : much sugar as pulp, give or : take) : apples or pears (or both) : 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. salt (per gal. : pulp) : Steam and quarter fruit. Cook in an equal amount of : water until soft; put through food mill. Measure the pulp and : sugar into large kettle; add salt. Boil rapidly, stirring : constantly to prevent scorching. Add spices and lemon juice. : Continue cooking until butter is thick enough to almost flake : off the spoon or enough to spread. Ladle into sterilized jars : to 1/8-inch of top. Wipe rim. Process in boiling water bath : for 5 minutes. : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : PEAR BUTTER : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 18 to 20 medium size ripe : pears (about 5 lb.), : quartered and cored : 1 c. water : 4 c. sugar : 1 tsp. grated orange rind : 1/3 c. orange juice : 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg : Combine pears and water in a large heavy Dutch oven. : Cover and cook over medium-low heat 30 to 40 minutes or until : pears are soft, stirring constantly. Drain. Press through a : sieve or food mill; measure 2-quarts of puree. Combine 2 : quarts of puree with remaining ingredients in Dutch oven. Cook : over medium heat, stirring constantly for 15 minutes or until : mixture thickens. Remove from heat and skim off foam. Pour : hot pear mixture into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch : headspace. Cover at once with metal lids and screw on bands. : Process in boiling water bath 10 minutes. Makes 5 pints. : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : APPLE BUTTER : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 4 qt. sweet apple cider : 3 qt. pared and quartered : cooking apples (about : 4 lb.) : 2 c. sugar : 1 tsp. ground cinnamon : 1 tsp. ground ginger : 1/2 tsp. ground cloves : Heat cider to boiling in 5 quart Dutch oven. Boil, : uncovered, until cider measures 2 quarts, about 1 1/4 hours. : Add apples. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, : stirring frequently, until apples are soft and can be broken : apart with spoon, about 1 hour. (Apples can be pressed through : sieve or food mill at this point for smooth apple butter.) Stir : in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. : Simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently, until no liquid sepa- : rates from pulp, about 2 hours. Heat to boiling. Pour into : hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rims of : jars. Seal and process in boiling water bath 10 minutes. : Yield: about 3 1/2 pints Apple Butter. : Note: Good apples for cooking are Beacon, Cortland, : Jonathan, McIntosh, Rhode Island Greening, Rome Beauty and : York Imperial.

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