Pumpkin Butter

Created 09 Dec 2014 02:54, Updated 09 Dec 2014 16:28

Pumpkin Butter

Inspired by a recipe I found on the Smitten Kitchen blog

I usually find pumpkin butter to be too sweet or too heavily spiced to appreciate the pumpkin flavor, so I set out to make a lightly spiced and pumpkin-y butter that's more to my liking. This first batch turned out well even though I wasn't satisfied with the flavor when it was warm. I put it in the fridge for a few days, figuring that I could give it another try after the flavors mellowed. If I still didn't like it, I could always put it back in a pan with some water and try to make some adjustments. But to my pleasant surprise, a week later some of this butter on bread tasted like eating pumpkin pie from a jar. I quickly recorded here what I did (before I lost my notes), and look forward to seeing if the recipe tests out successfully again next year.

When I make it again, I will add a little more cider vinegar, probably 1-2 more teaspoons. I also will cut the cloves back a little, probably to 1/4 teaspoon. I also didn't use any honey in this simply because my honey was a solid crystallized block, so I might try subbing honey for some of the brown sugar next time. Finally, I may not add ground ginger, but increase the fresh ginger just a wee bit (3 teaspoons?). I couldn't really taste the ginger when it was warm and cooking, but the fresh ginger flavor is nice after everything was able to grow together.

Special note for other cooks with other tastes: the recipe that inspired this batch called for much more sugar than I used (1 1/3 c brown sugar to go with 3 1/2 c pumpkin). See my note above about usually finding pumpkin butter much too sweet for my taste.

INGREDIENTS
3 c pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 c apple juice (I juiced some apples for mine)
1/2 c brown sugar
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp molasses
2 tsp cider vinegar

METHOD
Mix everything except the cider vinegar together in a pan, bring to a bubble, and cook until thick. Add the vinegar, taste and adjust flavors.

When cooked to desired consistency, pour into containers and store in the fridge or freezer. Sadly, pumpkin butter should not be preserved at home using water bath or pressure canning.

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