Blueberry Butter

This is lovely, rich, sweet, and ever so faintly tart with a hint of lemon. Even with such a large batch, I simply did not make enough. It's lovely on toast, waffles, and pancakes, of course, but is also amazing on ice cream, stirred into oatmeal, and spooned between layers of muffin batter and baked.

16 cups frozen blueberries

½ cup lemon Juice

3 cups Maple syrup

2 tsp Cinnamon

Run the still frozen blueberries through food processor, and grind them into chunks, but don't puree them.

Pour just the blueberries into a large crock pot, and cook on high, covered, until hot. It should steam slightly, but not bubble; about 150 degrees F.

Uncover, and continue to cook the blueberries on high until they thicken, and the butter reduces by one quarter to one third.

Add all of the other ingredients, bring back to temp, and cook down until desired consistency is achieved.

Sterilize 16 quarter pint jars, bands, and lids.

Spoon the hot blueberry butter into the jars, place on lids and tighten the bands to fingertip tight.

Process in hot water bath canner for 10 minutes (15 for high altitude), then remove the canner lid and let jars cool in the canner for 5 more minutes.

Remove the jars, and set on a wire rack to cool.

Leave them undisturbed for 12 hours. Check all of the seals before storing. 

As always, can at your own risk.

Banana Butter

This is a long-awaited and much-promised recipe. This stuff is amazing. I wanted to show you a beautiful full jar, but, well, I just can't seem to keep it in the house long enough to photograph it. This was as close as I could get. When spread over the top of buttered toast, it tastes like a cross between banana bread and cinnamon rolls. It is, by far, the most favorite recipe in the house. It's also perfect for using up those few leftover mushy bananas. You can throw them, unpeeled, into the freezer, and just thaw and peel them when you have enough. This recipe is easily multiplied, but as bananas don't really have a season here in the Northeast, I honestly don't bother.

1 ½ cups Mashed Ultra-ripe Banana (about 4 whole bananas)

3 Tbsp Maple Syrup

¾ tsp Lemon Juice

1/8 tsp Vanilla Extract

¾ tsp Cinnamon

1/16 tsp Nutmeg

1/8 tsp Salt

Pour mashed banana into crock pot, and cook on low, with lid off, stirring about every half hour to an hour, until banana is slightly drier than desired finished product. About 8-10 hours. The idea is to slowly caramelize the banana, before adding any other ingredients.

Add remaining ingredients, and stir thoroughly.

Adjust consistency if necessary by cooking down or adding water. Cook on high, covered, until banana butter is steaming.

Sterilize one 8 ounce jar and lid.

Pack banana butter into the hot jar, leaving ¼ inch head space. Cover with lid, screw band to fingertip tight, and let it cool completely on the counter. This is not shelf stable, so just place it in the refrigerator.