Peach-y, caramel-y, vanilla-y, this slow cooker peach butter is so good. The fact that it is an incredibly easy canning recipe too can be our little secret!
Sometimes you make something so incredibly good that you are almost ashamed to admit that it was, in fact, incredibly easy. There are some things that I have spent hours, days, or weeks on – only to result in “meh” type feelings. Thankfully, there are also some things that I spend a few minutes on and walk away – to later discover that “awesomeness” just happened. Such was the case with this slow cooker peach butter with vanilla bean.
So. Much. AWESOMENESS.
I have made many incarnations of peach jam – each probably messier and stickier than the last. I even received a second-degree burn from some molten and wildly bubbling jam on stove top of questionable heat consistency. Ouch. However, all resulted in perfectly serviceable and tasty peach jams. But the process of peeling, slicing, chopping and boiling – all usually during the hottest days of summer – is far from appealing, no pun intended. This, my friends, is the charm of a peach BUTTER. Butters are low fuss. Translation: No PEAL.
Now that’s appealing.
This slow cooker peach butter with vanilla bean recipe really couldn’t get much easier. Cut peaches in half, pluck out that brainy looking pit, put halves in a blender, pour puree into slow cooker/crock-pot, add other ingredients and walk away. I repeat WALK AWAY. In fact, the less you fuss with this peach butter, the better it will be.
I like to use freestone peach varieties like Veteran, Redhaven and Golden Jubilee for preservation. Prying out a stubborn stone is no fun task. Fruit butters differ from jams in that the fruit is cooked down, generally slowly, until it thickens and even caramelizes some. Fruit butters are often made with apples, pears, and peaches, skin intact – seeds or pits removed, puréed to a smooth texture. Left to reduce for about 18 hours, this slow cooker peach butter with vanilla bean gets rather caramel-y and sinful. Stirred rather infrequently, the peaches and added sugar caramelize and take on a very rich and complex flavor. Added lemon juice helps to offset the caramel-y sweetness and ensures a safe canning pH (approximately 3.5 with my calibrated pH meter).
My first sampling of the peach butter, reduced overnight, left me recalling moments of greedy satisfaction with a tub of caramel sauce. But with a peach-y, vanilla-y twist. While not altogether necessary, the addition of vanilla bean really ups the sinful ante – and to very good ends. Now that I have a couple batches of this peach butter put up (hoarded, whatever), I am looking forward to drizzling this over butter pecan ice cream and maybe mixed with homemade cream cheese to fill a Danish.
Or maybe I will eat it all with all with a spoon.
Don’t judge.
Slow Cooker Peach Butter with Vanilla Bean
Slow Cooker Peach Butter with Vanilla Bean
Ingredients
- 16 cups fresh peach puree
- 2-3 cups of organic cane sugar or honey to taste
- 1 1/4 cups lemon juice
- 2 vanilla beans
Instructions
- To prepare the peaches, simply remove pit and puree in blender or food processor.
- Split vanilla beans in half and scrape beans from pod. Place all ingredients into a large stockpot, including scraped vanilla pod. If the capacity of your stockpot is not sufficient, you may have to wait for adequate reduction before adding all the desired sweetener or lemon juice.
- Reduce in a partially covered slow cooker crock on low heat for 12-18 hours. Stir somewhat infrequently, allowing browning and carmelization around the edges. When peach butter is reduced by approximately 1/3, remove spent vanilla pods and discard.
- Scrape down side of crock. To ensure smoothness, re-puree with an immersion blender.
- Ladle into sterilized half pint jars, leaving 1/2" head room. Wipe rims clean and place prepared lids and rings onto jars, finger tight.
- Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes at a full boil. After processing, remove jars from canner and allow to cool . undisturbed, for 24 hours. Check for seal and store in a cool and dark place for up to a year.
Want more slow cooker canning recipes? Check out this homemade ketchup.
6 Comments
I cannot wait to try this. Next weekend, next weekend, next weekend!
May the weekend arrive quickly! I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
Sounds amazing!!!!! Just curious as to how many jars it made? Thanks!!!
Hi, Jules! You’ll love this recipe. The ending yield will depend a lot on how far you reduce the peach butter in the slow cooker (and how much you “sample” during the process). I have varied between six half-pints for a very thick peach butter and about eight with a slightly looser batch. So — 6-8 half pints would be my answer.
I just stumbled upon this recipe and can’t wait to make it! I’m wondering about how many peaches it will take to make 16cups of purée? I realize that peach size will make the number vary but would like a ballpark number. I just made your plum butter and it was delicious! Thank you!
I, too, made the plum butter and it was delicious. Did you make the peach butter already? That’s my goal for tomorrow but I’m wondering why prep in the stockpot only to remove and put it in the crockpot. Is there something I’m missing or are you cooking it down first?