Down South, the age-old art of home canning is known as “putting up.” I grew up in a family committed to canning and preserving. My family would make gallons of preserves from bushels of fruit in all-day canning marathons. Making preserves can be intimidating with the double whammy of concerns about food safety and large-scale production fears. No worries here! Putting up can be a part of modern life with small-batch refrigerator fruit butters.
Making fruit butter is akin to preserving with training wheels. These sweet spreads are often made with less sugar than other jams and jellies by simply cooking fruit and spices with sugar to a thick consistency. There are no thermometers or gel points and no need to worry about pectin. Fruit butters are simply pureed fruit that’s been cooked until it’s thicker than a sauce, contains less moisture and has a texture similar to a paste.
Butter made with savory pumpkin only seems like an outlier. Scientifically speaking, a pumpkin is a fruit because it is a product of the seed-bearing structure of flowering plants. Culinarily, pumpkin butter, like apple and pear, is a traditional preserve often made in the fall when the produce is in season.
Unlike shelf-stable jams, jellies, preserves and butters, small-batch butters destined for the refrigerator do not need to be processed in a pressure cooker or boiling water canner. They can be made from fresh, seasonal produce and enjoyed in a short amount of time. These easy recipes are a nice way to incorporate fall flavors into your meals – and potentially dip your toes into larger preserving projects at a later time.
RECIPES
This trio of recipes takes fruit butter to the next level of easy by using a hands-off oven-roasting method, fruit juice as a sweetener and already-pureed canned pumpkin.
Credit: Virginia Willis
Credit: Virginia Willis
Oven Apple Butter
Soft apples work best for apple butter because they break down faster. Look for apples such as Braeburn, Cortland, Fuji, Gala, Idared and McIntosh. There’s no need to peel the apples before making them into butter. Taking the time to peel adds to the prep time and many vitamins and minerals are in the skin. Apple butter is phenomenal on toast or spooned into oatmeal. It can also be a flavorful addition to pork tenderloin.
2 pounds soft cooking apples such as Gala, cored and diced
1/2 cup water
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch salt
Combine the apples, water, lemon juice and granulated sugar in a medium ovenproof saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until apples are soft, about 25 minutes.
While the apples are cooking, heat the oven to 300 degrees.
Once the apples are soft, mash with the back of a spoon or potato masher until smooth. If you want the apple butter to be very smooth, use an immersion blender and puree until smooth and the peel is well incorporated. Add brown sugar, cinnamon and pinch of salt. Stir to combine.
Transfer the saucepan to the oven and cook uncovered, stirring every 30 minutes until the moisture has evaporated and the butter is thick and brown, about 2 hours.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Makes 2 cups.
Per tablespoon: 34 calories (percent of calories from fat, 1), trace protein, 8 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams total sugars, 1 gram fiber, trace total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 3 milligrams sodium.
Credit: Virginia Willis
Credit: Virginia Willis
No Added Sugar Pear Butter
Pears are naturally sweet and well-suited to being made into butter without added sugar. Here, pears are simmered with pear nectar, a sweet liquid made from pear juice.
Pear butter goes well with meat and charcuterie plates. Try it for a fat-free spread on a turkey sandwich with a slice of cheddar or spoon it on top of a wheel of cheese for baked brie.
You don’t have to peel the pears in this small-batch fruit butter.
3 pears, cored and finely diced
1 cup pear nectar
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch salt
Place diced pears in a large saucepan with pear nectar. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook pears for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cubes begin to soften and fall apart.
Once the pears are soft, mash with the back of a spoon or potato masher until smooth. If you want the pear butter to be very smooth, use an immersion blender and puree until smooth and the peel is well incorporated. Add cardamom, cloves and pinch of salt. Stir to combine.
Continue to cook over very low heat, stirring often until the moisture has evaporated and the butter is thick and brown, about 2 hours.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Makes 2 cups.
Per tablespoon: 34 calories (percent of calories from fat, 1), trace protein, 8 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams total sugars, 1 gram fiber, trace total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 5 milligrams sodium.
Credit: Virginia Willis
Credit: Virginia Willis
Mexican Pumpkin Puree
I first enjoyed a version of this flavorful pumpkin puree as a cappuccino add-in at an organic farm-driven cafe in Tecate, Mexico. It adds a plant-forward rich and creamy thickness to both hot and iced coffee. To use as a coffee add-in, add 2 tablespoons of Mexican Pumpkin Puree and stir to combine.
It can also be spread on toast, quickbreads and biscuits, or dollop atop pancakes or French toast.
This recipe uses canned pumpkin puree, but if you want to make your own, look for “sugar pumpkins” or “pie pumpkins.” One medium-sized (4-pound) sugar pumpkin will yield about 1½ cups of mashed pumpkin. To make the puree, cut the pumpkin in half, remove the seeds and pulp, cover each half in foil, and bake at 350 degrees until tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Scrape the flesh from the halves, discard the skin, and puree the pulp in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Proceed with the recipe as written.
2 (15-ounce) cans pumpkin puree
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
Pinch salt
Combine the pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce the heat to low. Cook uncovered, stirring often, until the puree has thickened and reduced by half, about 1 1/2 hours.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Makes 3 cups.
Per tablespoon: 18 calories (percent of calories from fat, 3), trace protein, 4 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams total sugars, 1 gram fiber, trace total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 5 milligrams sodium.
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