This nectarine spice butter is easy to make and lovely to have all winter long. Store it in the fridge or can it for winter. 
I grew up next to a peach orchard in Oregon. Living in the midst of such a wealth of fruit, it never occurred to me to venture out beyond peaches. I came across the humble nectarine here and there but never really fell for them. Now I’m living in Southern Idaho where there are quite a few nectarine trees and ripe fruit is readily available. I find I’m falling in love with the nectarine and all the fun possibilities it offers.
I had already made my canning plans for the summer but a kind friend offered me a big pile of nectarines. I am my mother’s daughter and pretty much can’t turn down a pile of fruit to save my life. The tree is still young so the fruits were on the small side. Jam it was!
Nectarines are amazing because they have plenty of pectin in the peel of the fruit. It is not as much as apricots have, but it’s enough to gel jams without adding pectin as long as you don’t remove the peels!
I like this recipe because it’s simple to make and preserve. I made more than one batch (there were a LOT of nectarines!). Storage space is at a premium so I have been giving out extra jars to friends. Everybody loves it! Grab some of this wonderful fruit before the season ends and whip up a batch of Nectarine Spice Butter for your pantry or to give as Christmas gifts. If you are new to canning check out my post on Water Bath Canning for some tips and equipment ideas.
Nectarine Spice Butter
Ingredients
- 9 cups of ripe nectarines with skins
- 4 cups of sugar
- 1/4 cup of lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon
Instructions
- Slice fruit and remove pits. Keep skins on.
- Add fruit, sugar, lemon juice, butter and cinnamon to heavy bottomed soup pot. Bring to a boil on medium high stirring constantly with a sturdy wooden spatula. Make sure to scrape the bottom regularly to prevent burning.
- After the fruit comes to a boil, use an immersion blender in a circular motion to puree the fruit into a sauce. Make it as smooth as you desire.
- Simmer for an additional 20 minutes stirring constantly.
- Fill jars (you can use half pints, pints, or quarts) leaving a half inch of head space.
- Process in a Water Bath Canner for 10 minutes at 1,000 feet of altitude or less. If you live above 1,000 feet process longer: for 1,001 - 3,000 feet add 5 minutes, for 3,001 - 6,000 feet add 10 minutes, for 6,001 - 8,000 feet add 15 minutes, for 8,001 - 10,000 feet add 20 minutes.
Mirim
This sounds utterly delicious, but I’m in peach country. Do you think I could substitute peaches if I add pectin according to the instructions on the package?
Mirlandra
She that lives in peach country is lucky indeed! If you add pectin to peaches according to the package directions you will get jam more than butter. If you would like to do that I have a post on peach jam that you would find helpful. I made a big batch this summer and it is heavenly! You can find all my jam recipes in the recipe index under, “Preserving The Harvest.”
However, if you want a true peach butter it would be best to do it without pectin. I think you could make it about the same way I make the nectarine butter but you need to peel the peaches. I have not done peach butter this way before but Maria at Two Peas and Their Pod posted a great recipe this summer (www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/easy-peach-butter/). She calls for vanilla – sounds like a nice touch. I hope that answers your question!
Paulette
Do you think this could be frozen instead of canned? Maybe in freezer bags?
Mirlandra
Of course! I freeze lots of jam. I use yogurt containers, peanut butter jars and glass jars. Bags are fine too if they don’t get torn in your freezer. I am married to a “rummager” and sometimes end up with problems 🙂
Allison
What is a nubbin of butter
Mirlandra
I’m sorry. I will update that to be more clear. It means a Tablespoon or two.
Allison
Thank you! This recipe is wonderful. I made a batch and it was so good I had to go out and buy more nectarines and make more!
Sandy Ferris
How much is a nubbin of butter?
Mirlandra
Sorry, Sandy. I am updating the recipe to be more clear. I intended 1 – 2 Tbsp of butter. Just a bit really to keep the butter from foaming.
Jennifer McBride
What is a nubbin?
Mirlandra
Sorry, Jennifer. I am updating the recipe to be more clear. I was expecting 1-2 Tbsp. of butter.
Sherri Howard
I tested out your recipe last night and took some to work today. It was SO good!! Thank you!
Mirlandra
Wonderful! I am so glad you enjoyed it. I did not get to make any this year with all that is going on and I’m feeling a bit sad. I did get a nice batch of applesauce for the freezer though so at least Jack and I will have that to enjoy!
Amber
I made this spiced nectarine butter this morning and my husband tried it when he came home at lunch. He loved it! This was a great way to use up the nectarines that had sat on the counter just a bit too long. Thanks for a great recipe!
Mirlandra
Oh wonderful! I am so glad you both enjoyed it.
Deb Rodriguez
Thanks so much, Mirlandra. I’m a Southern Idaho girl, too, and inherited a big nectarine tree when we moved to our current home. This was super fun to make today. Love it! (I canned some and froze some because I ran out of canning jars!)
Mirlandra
Oh you lucky girl! I am a transplant and love all the nectarines and apricots that grow around here – it is a treasure trove! We wold love to buy a bigger spread someday and put in an entire orchard. A girl can dream!
Dianne Christians
I made this today and it made the house smell SO good!! This recipe is definitely a keeper in my kitchen. I’m gonna have to go out and get more nectarines to make more so I can give as gifts to my co-workers I need the ER for Christmas!!
Mirlandra
I’m so glad you think so! I love it too for just that reason. Yesterday I made peach jam and it was heavenly. But now I want nectarine butter! It sure does make great Christmas gifts. Thanks for saying hi!
Moana Hopkins
I made this two nights ago. It didn’t set up like a thick butter, but stayed runnier like a syrup. It’s incredibly tasty, however. I did add a tsp. of fresh grated nutmeg to this current batch and I like the extra spice. I highly doubt this nutmeg caused the batch to stay runny. Next batch I will definately add a box of pectin.
And I also had trouble trying to figure out what a nubbin is. Google “clarified” it as “a protuberance, like a knob of corn”. WUT? so I added 2 tb. of butter.
Mirlandra
I’m sorry for the hassle! When I was new to writing recipes I thought it was so cute to say “nubbin” of butter and had a question about it awhile back. I updated the post to clarify that I meant about 2 Tbsp. but it looks like the software that we updated recently for the recipe section changed the update. I’ve gone in and fixed it so hopefully nobody else will have to google and get crazy corn information. This was one of the first recipes I shared about three years ago – I need to update it with new pictures too it looks like.
I’m sorry that yours was on the runny side. It is a looser gel with natural pectin and if you want something like a more traditional jam adding a box of pectin would be a good idea. You are correct the nutmeg would not have been a problem with setting. Thanks for the feedback! It is always great to know what I can do better.
RaeAnna
Really nice recipe! I found it a bit too sickly sweet, so I added about a tablespoon of salt. I saw others said it was a bit runny, so after I blended, I let it reduce by half (About 40 minutes, rather than 20). It ended up with a great texture, and somewhat of a caramel taste as the sugar had cooked down a bit more. If I made it again, I’d use 3 cups of sugar, rather than 4, and I’d add the salt again. But, the family loves it! Thanks!
Mirlandra
I’m glad you liked it! Sugar tastes very a lot by person and it can depend on the kind of fruit you are using for sure! Sounds like you are a woman who knows how to adjust things 🙂 I love the salt idea. I was just thinking of adding some salt to a 3 berry jam recipe I’m working on!