Prepare the pears by quartering and coring the fruit (if using a food mill or sieve, you can skip the coring step).

Simmer the pears and lemon juice in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or a Dutch oven (covered) over low heat until the fruit is very soft.

Working in batches, run the cooked pears through a food mill, sieve, or blender until uniformly smooth.

Pour the fruit purée back into the pot or Dutch oven. Add the liquid, sweetener, and seasonings of your choice to the fruit.

Keep cooking the pears over medium-low to medium heat, stirring more and more frequently, until a spatula can trace along the bottom or the pear butter holds its shape when mounded into a teaspoon.

Remove the pear butter from the heat.

Ladle the hot pear butter into prepared 1/2-pint or 1-pint canning jars leaving 1/2-inch headspace between the butter and the underside of the lids. Wipe the jar rims with clean tea towel and apply two-piece lids. Load jars into prepared hot water canner.

Process the jars for 10 minutes for altitudes lower than 6,000 feet or for 15 minutes if you live at an altitude greater than 6,000 feet.

When the timer goes off, turn off the canner and let the jars sit in the hot water for 5 minutes before removing carefully with a jar lifter.

Let the contents of the jars come to room temperature before checking the seal of each lid. Remove rings from sealed jars, storing any unsealed jars in the fridge to be consumed in the next 2 weeks.

Store sealed jars in a cool, dry location away from direct light for up to 18 months.