Fruit butter

There is no butter involved!

It’s also not a puree, jam or a coulis.

Is there a big difference?

Possibly not, although it uses less sugar.

It’s thick so can be used as a spread, which is why it’s more of a ‘butter’.

My teen loves it in his plain yoghurt to add flavour and sweetness.

I also used it in place of nut butter in recipes.

Easy to make, but it can be time consuming.

Recipe – Fruit butter

500gms fruit (I used pear and berries)
1 tsp lemon juice
0.20 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
0.15 cup water

Method

Prepare the fruit. Remove the skin from apples, pears etc. Dice fruit if large.
Add lemon juice to the fruit.
Cook fruit/lemon juice covered, in a heavy bottomed pan on a low heat until fruit is soft.
Mash or puree.
For very smooth, or to remove e.g., seeds from berries push through a sieve.
Return fruit to pan.
Add sugar and water to pan.
Bring mixture to the boil and simmer until the fruit mixture is thick and no liquid escapes, stirring as needed (will probably take 30+ plus minutes depending on the fruit)
The result is a thick, concentrated paste that is sweet but flavoured more from the fruit than sugar.
Spread on toast, add to yoghurt or ice cream, use to bind cereal bars etc.

Judith, MA Cantab (Cambridge University), MSc Psychology (first-class honours), is working on a PhD, is an AOTA accredited picky eating advisor and internationally certified nutritional therapist. She works with 100+ families every year resolving fussy eating and returning pleasure and joy to the meal table.

She is also mum to two boys and the author of Creating Confident Eaters and Winner Winner I Eat Dinner. Her dream is that every child can approach food from a place of safety and joy, not fear.
Learn more about Judith here: https://theconfidenteater.com/about/