Blueberry Butter

While everyone is familiar with Apple Butter, more and more fruit butters are becoming popular, and with good reason, their smooth mouthfeel and concentrated flavor is a delight to your tastebuds! I've got two Peach Butter 'ibles and I'm now introducing Blueberry Butter and I hope you love it as much as I do!

The great thing about fruit butters, especially this lower sugar blueberry butter, is that you can use them in sweet and savory applications. Sure they taste amazing on toast, scones, pancakes, waffles, and ice cream, stir some into oatmeal and other grains, or, serve some on top of pork chops, chicken, salmon, other fish, maybe add some balsamic vinegar or lime/lemon juice and let your culinary imagination flow.

The only thing fruit butters really need is time, lots of people use slow cookers to make them, but I don't want to wait all day, so I use my stovetop. You want to cook out the excess water and have a nice, thick sauce. Sometimes this takes 30 minutes, sometimes it takes 3 hours, so be patient. This butter was ready in an hour. You do need to stick around the kitchen and stir every 10 minutes or so, you don't want the bottom to scorch.

Blueberry butter has a great tart, sweet blueberry flavor, some lemon juice brightens it up, and a little pumpkin pie spice brings warming notes that you taste at the end for well rounded flavor. How will you use your blueberry butter?

Recipe makes 6-7 cups, I use 4-and 8-ounce jars.
Slightly adapted from Food in Jars. http://foodinjars.com/2010/06/june-can-jam-slow-cooker-blueberry-butter/

You'll need:

8 cups of pureed blueberries (I used 4.5 lbs. of blueberries to get 8 cups crushed berries, I'll show how I puréed them in the next step)
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup bottled lemon juice
2 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Pinch salt

First, wash all your canning jars, lids, and bands in warm, soapy water. Since the jars will be processed 10 minutes you don't need to pre-sterilize them in boiling water, but you should keep them warm, either in the pot you're preheating to boil the filled jars in, or in a 225 F oven.

Wash all the blueberries, I fill my sink about 1/3 full with water and add 1 cup white vinegar, add the blueberries and swirl them around to clean. Remove to clean kitchen towels. I don't bother drying because I think some of the water helps create a smooth purée in my blender. I use a high speed, Vitamix blender that makes it simple to get a smooth butter, if you don't have one, a food processor, or immersion blender can also work, your butter may be more chunky, and that's perfectly fine.

Process blueberries, in batches, filling blender 1/2-2/3 full, one minute, or until very smooth, this takes less time in a Vitamix. Transfer to an 8-cup measuring cup (or refill a smaller measuring cup), and purée until you have 8 cups.

Combine puréed blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, pumpkin pie spice, and a pinch of salt in a 6qt, or larger pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring constantly, 1 hour or until mixture thickens and holds it's shape on a spoon.

Ladle hot blueberry butter into a hot jar, leaving 1/4- inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim with a damp paper towel. Center lid on jar, apply band, and adjust to fingertip-tight. Repeat until all jars are filled, then transfer to boiling water canner. Place lid on pot and bring water to a boil.

Process jars 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat: remove lid, and let jars stand 5 minutes. Remove jars to a cooling rack, or kitchen towel-lined counter, and let cool. The next day, check seals, label, and store. Blueberry butter jars can be kept in a cool, dry place up to one year. Once opened, store in the refrigerator.