Caramel Pear Butter

I was at a local Fruit stand and decided to make some sort of Fruit butter My dad Always  makes Apple Butter, normally after going to apple orchards in Eastern WA  and getting a  box of apples

I got 8 #'s of pears  (3.5# comice, about 6 and 4.5# Green Anjou)

Due to my dad's apple butter  making we have an apple peeler/corer/slicer.

DID NOT work on the pears! the spikes that hold the fruit in place Tore out the inside of the pears,

I hand peeled and cored the pears and Placed them in water to boil them down(in hind sight I'd have used a juice  of some sort)

 Once They were boiled and I could I Pureed them With my Immersion Blender Then I Put the Puree in a crock pot on High and let it cook for about 6-8 hours (the less water you start with  the faster this step goes)

sorry I don't have a complete Picture, my camera ate it

 Caramel!
2C Sugar
.5 C Water
1 Tbsp Light corn Syrup

Mix it all together and start cooking over Med High heat

I cooked it to about 380 degrees,  then I pulled it and waited a bit for the camera to work so it went a little over(it's right on the edge of being toooo Burnt tasting)
Alton Brown said to pull it when you see the first signs of smoke

then stand back and add 2 cups of heavy cream.

When it  starts to settle down stir with a wooden spoon and return to a boil for 3 mins

In the last 30 seconds I got a 9x9 metal pan to pour the caramel into so I could rapidly cool it in the freezer

after cooling I mixed it all up and  Started to mix the 2 parts together( pear and Caramel)

I did a little test and decided 2 parts of Pear and 1 part Caramel is pretty good, Maybe up the pear to up to 3 parts instead of 2

 Finished Product, A little thicker than applesauce, a bit grainy  due to the texture of the pear

 Would be perfect on toast . or ice cream   or mixed into anything that could use a little sweetness

Marshmallows or mellows however you roll

I have always been Curious how to make these! and last year around the holidays a classmate of mine told me it was easy , it took me a year to find out for myself but  As long as you have a candy thermometer and a stand mixer it is Easy!

I'll apologize in advance for a lack of process pictures, you have to be quick when making these and I didn't have a second person available to take pictures ( but when I cut them people flocked in!)

When I try Anything new the first place I look for a recipe is Alton Brown, so it's no surprise it is his recipe i modified for this batch of mallows

Ingredients:Altons Mallows

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup ice cold water, divided
• 12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Nonstick spray

I really like Chambord and I happened to have gotten a bottle as a gift from my old roomate so I decided to try to make some Raspberry Flavored Marshmallows. I'll tell you about the modifications as They come up in the recipe, I read of somebody using Scotch and having success so i would assume you could use most liquors.

• Take 1/2 of the water (I substituted 1/4 cup with chambord,  in hindsight I should have used a full 1/2 cup of it) place the liquid in the bowl of your stand mixer(with whip attachment) and sprinkle the Gelatin over it, this will bloom the gelatin.

• Mix the remaining water(1/2 cup) with the sugar, corn syrup , and salt
  
• Heat over med/med-hi (use a bigger pot than you think you'd need the liquid can bubble up and over flow, trust me.... i know from experience)
• Heat covered for about 4 mins then uncover and place thermometer on the side of the pot, make sure the bottom is in the liquid but not touching the bottom

• While that mixture heats to 240,

•  I mixed the corn starch and powdered sugar, I sifted it to make sure there weren't lumps of sugar

• When the mixture is at 240 turn mixer on low , remove candy thermometer and slowly pour the hot mixture down the side of the bowl.

 

 

• Once all the mixture is in the bowl turn to High and allow mixture to whip for around 10-15 mins  untill it has cooled down ( add vanilla in the last minute of whipping , I added another 3 Tablespoons or 1/4 cup of Chambord at this time)
• While the mixture is whipping  spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray and dust with some of the starch mixture 
• When the mixture is cool  take the bowl and a spatula sprayed with nonstick spray and put the mixture in the pan , flattening it with the spatula to make a smooth layer (you have to do this pretty quickly )

• Dust the top with more of the sugar mixture and allow the mallows to sit  for 4hrs to overnight.
• when you are ready to cut you should be able to just remove them from the pan lay them on a surface dusted with the sugar to be safe and run a pizza cutter through them 
• After you cut them throw them in more of the starch mixture( I put the starch in a bag and threw the mallows in after i cut each row and shook them about so they wouldn't stick together)

•  Eat em !!!!!!

 If I were to do these again, I would  just use a raspberry extract or perhaps a puree instead of the Chambord Because they aren't super raspberry tasting

Aside from that I think this was a pretty successful first batch of marshmallows.  give them a try, They are a pretty cheap thing to make and you can cut them and Give them as homemade gifts, maybe after drizzling them with chocolate or perhaps dipping them halfway in chocolate