Spicy Slow Cooker Peach Butter
Smooth. Creamy. Sweet. Spicy. Yum!
While I thoroughly enjoy the lower sugar content and richness of fruit butters, the process of cooking them down into that creamy thick spread can be long and taxing. When making them on the stove top they need almost constant stirring at a low temperature. I’ve been known to park my butt on a bar stool at the stove and read a book in one hand and stir with the other. There is another way and I tried it for the first time this week and I think I am in love!
Enter the slow cooker! Around here our crock-pot mostly gets pulled out for chili or a few other soups. The rest of the time it sits in the cupboard unloved. But, it’s lower and constant heat is perfect for gently cooking down something so it seemed like a natural tool to use in the making of fruit butter. Since our main slow cooker (yes, we have more than one) is rather large and I had a large amount of peaches to use quick I opted to use it to make the peach butter. Besides the more hands-off approach to fruit butter making, the crock-pot also allowed me to put it together in the morning and put off the actual canning until late evening when it was cool outside and the house could be open. A real plus with daytime highs in the mid-90’s!
This peach butter has a little kick of fresh ginger to it and a fair amount of cinnamon and nutmeg. You can easily adjust those amounts to your own tastes. Just keep in mind that if you take a taste early on and it doesn’t seem like enough spice that it does concentrate as the liquid evaporates so err on the side of less spice.
With little odds and ends of all these various preserves around the house I’ve been getting a bit more creative in how I’m using them (with a few helpful suggestions from friends). If we were to eat them only on bread products like yesterday’s English muffins or scones or crumpets we would be in trouble, in more ways than one. I’m loving this one on Greek Yogurt, perhaps a sprinkling of muesli or granola would be a nice addition. Also, mixing the yogurt and peach butter together makes a yummy fruit dip that goes especially well with apples or melon. I suspect some graham crackers or graham bunnies or bears in that dip would make a fun after school snack too. Last night we had it on cheesecake for dessert.
Spicy Slow-Cooker Peach Butter
yields 8 cups
Ingredients
- 5 lbs Peaches (about 13 medium)
- 1 oz Fresh Ginger, sliced thin (a large man-sized thumb)
- 5 cups Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon, ground
- 1/2 Tablespoon Nutmeg, ground
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- 2 T Fruit Fresh
Directions
1. Blanch, peel, pit and slice peaches. Puree in blender in batches with the ginger and lemon juice until smooth. You should have about 10 cups of puree.
2. In slow-cooker, combine puree, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and fruit fresh and stir until well mixed.
3. Turn slow-cooker on high and cook covered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Turn slow-cooker to low and cook uncovered an additional 10-11 hours or until volume is roughly half or desired thickness is achieved. You may invert a metal strainer over the top of the slow cook to cover yet provide ample evaporation.
4. Stir and fill warm canning jars with butter mixture, leaving a 1/4-1/2″ headspace. Wipe rims clean, place lids and tighten bands until finger-tight. Place in a hot water bath canner and be certain the water is 1-2″ above the lids. Process at a full boil for 10 minutes plus any altitude adjustments if required.
