At the market today, I found some pears at a very good price. They were lovely yellow Bartletts, ripe but still firm. But what would I do with them? I already had some green pears that were ripening very slowly…

Then I remembered a recipe that I posted on this blog last year for Apple Butter. I decided to buy six of the pears and make Pear Butter.

First I cored, peeled, and sliced the six large pears. Then I tossed them gently with 1 teaspoon of ground allspice.

I put them into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and simmered them on very low heat covered for about 45 minutes, checking and stirring every 10-15 minutes. I removed the cover and continued to simmer the pears about 15 more minutes, until the extra moisture evaporated.

 This recipe yields about 2 cups (16-18 oz) of Pear Butter. Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the pear slices and the consistency of the pears when you stop cooking them.

When cool, I put them into 2 sandwich sized recloseable bags, carefully removing trapped air, and stored them in the freezer. Put your fresh or defrosted Pear Butter on pancakes, toast, ice cream, or anything else you desire!