Tags
Gentle Reader, I discovered that those pears in my yard are Kieffer pears, also known as “canning” or “cooking” pears.
I took the easy route – I froze them instead of canning them. (I’ll tackle that later.)
First, I picked a bucket of pears. (Sounds like the beginning of a tongue twister, doesn’t it?)
Next, I peeled and cored all of them, depositing them in acidulated water in the meantime. (Acidulated water = 3 tablespoons of lemon juice in a gallon of water.)
Then I boiled them in sweetened water. Here’s the recipe based on just a few pears at a time.
How to Freeze Cooking Pears
6-8 pears, peeled, cored, drawn and quartered (a bit of medieval humor there)
1 quart of water
1/4 cup sugar
cinnamon stick or nutmeg or whole cloves – your choice
(You can substitute the sugar water with white grape juice or apple juice.)
Dissolve sugar in the water; then add the pears and cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25-35 minutes, until the pears are soft enough to pierce with a fork.
Let cool in the pot. Pour the pears and the juice into a freezer bag or container.
They will keep in the freezer for up to three months. Now it’s time to pick the figs that are ripening on the trees even as I write these words. ♥
Ho do they taste when thawed? Still like pears, or very mushy?
Poaching them in wine is tasty too. cut them in half, do half in white wie, half in something red, then put them together on that plate.
Pretty and tasty!
I’ve been looking for things to do with them – I will try this one, Guap. Sounds yummy! ❤
Some time after I’d left home, Mum and Dad bought a freezer and Mum began freezing fruit, then making jams and jellies or canning it once the colder weather hit. It meant she could do smaller quantities and in late autumn or winter the heat was welcome . . . ~ Linne
I think I’ll do what your Mum did, Linne – wait till the heat has passed to make some preserves or pear butter. ❤
You are in the harvest season! Lucky you. The pears sound magnificent, fresh, frozen OR canned. Mmmm….
Yes, now trying to think what I will do with all of them! ❤