Although I always start with the same weight of fruit when making pear or apple butter, I never come out with exactly the same amount of pulp, because some fruits are juicier than others. That’s why the old fruit butter recipes call for measuring the pulp and then adding half that measure of sugar. This wartime recipe uses half brown sugar with delicious results.
10 ripe pears (6 pounds)
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup orange juice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Peel, core, and coarsely chop pears. Place in a heavy 5-quart saucepan or Dutch oven. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until pears release liquid and soften into a pulp—about 10 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring frequently until pulp is thick and no juice is visible at edge of pan. (For a very smooth butter, puree pulp with a food mill or processor at this point.) Pulp should measure about 2 cups.
Combine pulp, granulated and brown sugars, orange juice, and cinnamon in same saucepan and continue to cook over low heat, stirring frequently until mixture is very thick, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, sterilize 1 pint or 2 half-pint jars and prepare equipment for processing butter (see here).
Transfer to a sterilized jar or jars leaving ¼-inch headroom; seal and process 15 minutes in boiling water bath canner (see here). Cool to room temperature. Check seal, label, and store. Use within 1 year.
1 Pint
“I learned the hard way all right!—and believe me, since I put up fruit of my own I appreciate Del Monte quality more than ever!”—Del Monte advertisement, 1943