Fruit Butters

Fruit butter is a smooth, richly flavored spread made by slowly cooking fruit puree—often apples, pears, plums, or even pumpkin—with a small amount of sugar and spices until the mixture thickens and becomes creamy. Unlike jam or jelly, fruit butter contains no fruit chunks, no… show more show less

Fruit butter is a smooth, richly flavored spread made by slowly cooking fruit puree—often apples, pears, plums, or even pumpkin—with a small amount of sugar and spices until the mixture thickens and becomes creamy. Unlike jam or jelly, fruit butter contains no fruit chunks, no added pectin, and typically has a lower sugar content. The result is a concentrated, spice-forward flavor and a soft, spreadable texture.

The term “butter” refers not to any dairy content, but to the smooth consistency of the final product—fruit butters are entirely fruit-based.

Especially popular in the form of apple butter and pumpkin butter, fruit butters originated with early American settlers as a way to preserve fruit through long winters.