We cooked a pumpkin the other day, roasted the seeds, kept some seeds to plant next year and then pureed the pumpkin in which we got 11 cups of pumpkin puree!! So what better than to enjoy some pumpkin hot chocolate (such a different color with homemade puree than store bought!) while making pumpkin butter!
Fruit butters date back to the Middle Ages as a way to preserve the crop and to avoid waste. During colonization, Europeans brought the tradition of making fruit butters here to our side of the world.
Fruit butters are called “butters” because of its ability to spread like butter even though it’s more like a puree. It’s much less sweet than a jam and not as thick (or gelatinous) as a jam or jelly. Fruit butters are cooked for a long time at a low heat until the moisture has been cooked out. Then typically, they’re stored in the fridge and eaten on toast, pancakes, oatmeal, french toast, yogurt and so on.
This spiced pumpkin butter is not overly sweet, so it goes well with sweeter things like pancakes. It’s also great added to smoothies or blended in a frozen or iced coffee!
Let’s get started!
First, we will pour the pumpkin into a slow cooker with sugar, lemon juice, and spices.
Then, stir well.
Place lid on and let cook. I set it on high for 4 hours.
Almost an hour and a half later, this is what the pumpkin butter looks like. I try to mix every 45 minutes to an hour so the edges do not burn. The color already has changed quite a bit!
Here is the pumpkin butter 2 hours later. It’s a much richer color from the spices.
And here is our final pumpkin butter. It cooked for 4 hours. It’s thick and definitely spreadable. Let cool and pour into jars. Refrigerate for up to three weeks. Smells amazing!
This pumpkin butter makes a large batch! You can pour into canning jars and process for 20 minutes in a water bath (adjusting for your altitude) to make it shelf stable or pour into jars and refrigerate. It can be easily shared with others!
Pumpkin Butter
5 cups pumpkin puree
2 tbsp lemon juice
1-1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1-1/2 cups sugar
Combine altogether. Cook in crockpot for 4 to 6 hours, or cook on stove but stir often so it does not burn.
Making pumpkin puree is simple! Check out my post Here!
enjoy from Our City Homestead to yours