Description
Luxurious pear butter infused with cardamom and vanilla, a perfect accompaniment to rich, aged Havarti cheese.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 pounds medium D’anjou pears, halved
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Place pears and water into a large pot; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until tender, 20-30 minutes. Pass the pears through a food mill to remove the skin, stems, and seeds. Be sure to send all of the pear-flavored water through the mill, as well. If you have multiple plates (different hole sizes), send them through a large one first, then again through a small one.
- Transfer the pear sauce to a large, deep-sided, non-stick (such as hard anodized) skillet. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and the pods to the pot along with the brown sugar, lemon zest and juice, cardamom, and salt.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so that it’s at a steady simmer. Allow to cook until dark and thick (like apple butter), stirring often, ~1 hour. You will probably see some foam around the edges as it starts to cook; use a spoon to skim this off and discard it. The pear butter will really start to bubble and spit during the last 10 minutes or so of cooking, so be careful as you stir, and lower the heat a bit to keep from getting popped.
- Once cool, pick out and discard the two halves of the vanilla bean pod. Store in airtight jars in the fridge (or can it, if you’re so inclined).