Pear Orange butter

Pear Orange butter

4 lb ripe, juicy pears
1 cup orange juice
3 TBSP lemon juice
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Core and coarsely chop pears. Combine pears, orange juice and lemon juice in pot on stove. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until the pears are very soft, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and pass mixture through food mill.

Place puree in crock pot and add sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Cook over med/high heat stirring often, for 40 or 50 minutes, until the butter is thick. Stir in ginger during the last 10 minutes of cooking time.

When butter is thickened, pour into jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space, and process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.