2nd batch - recipe

crock pot full of pear sauce to one inch from top
1 c orange juice
2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp angostura bitters

2 hours on low covered; puree; 8-10 hours on high uncovered, stir every hour

reduced-grit pears

After that last post I started slicing the pears in half and scooping out their gritty middles. Dumped the remaining halves, skin and all, into the foley mill. This should turn out a lot better. This method also makes it possible to see hard gritty pockets that sometimes pop up elsewhere on the pears. There is a lot less sauce, but it should be of a much better quality. [edited to add: it is still horribly gritty]

2nd-3rd batches

Cooked another batch of pears the same way; put sauce in fridge for later. Then put another crockpot-full on. It got unplugged sometime in the afternoon so I had to put it on a few more hours this morning. This time I'm taking the cooked pears and pulling off the ends and peel, then pulling the flesh off the cores. The yield is very low, but there seems to be less grit. In fact, I've discovered the source of the grit: little spots centered around the core. Will attach picture later.

1st batch, continued

The crock pot got unplugged yesterday afternoon for probably several hours. I ran it for a few hours last night, and am going to let it go a few more hours this morning. The pear butter is very thick now, too sweet, and quite gritty but not rocky. I'll can four half-pint jars when it's a little thicker, and try to palm the rest off on the kids.

1st batch

Used tiny green pears, rinsed only. Put 40 pears in crock pot with 1/2 cup water, then dumped in a little crabapple juice to get rid of it. Followed recipe at http://www.recipecottage.com/crockpot/pear-butter.html

(cooked in crockpot for 8-10 hours on low, put through Foley mill, added 4 cups sugar, nutmeg, 1/3 cup orange juice, crock-pot covered 2 hours on high, uncovered 8-10 hours on low).

It's now simmering in the crockpot. Tastes OK, not as gritty as I expected, but did have one big rock in it when I licked the spoon.