I finally got around to doing something with the hard pears off of the tree in the yard! I think they are Kiefer Pears, but I am not 100% sure. They are very common in the south and are so hard you can’t do anything with them but cook them for hours and hours.
I decided to attempt making preserves and they turned out delicious! Not having a clue as to how to make pear preserves I tried to do some research on the net to find a recipe. They were all so different I ended up more confused than when I started. So, I called my Mom for advice. I remembered her making pear preserves with similar pears from the tree in my grandfather’s yard as a child. I followed my mom’s directions below. Believe me, this is all she said.
- Peel and dice enough pears to fill your stock pot to the top. (I used a big enameled cast iron dutch oven.)
- Add water to cover the pears.
- Boil for a couple of hours.
- Add about 4 cups of sugar (a little less than the amount of pears you put in.)
- Thinly slice one or two lemons and add the slices to the water. Don’t forget the lemons, this is very important.
- Boil for hours and hours until they look like preserves should look. Stir regularly so the sugar doesn’t burn and boil them at a little over a med-low temperature.
- Put in the hot, sterilized jars and then put the jars in the water bath canning pot for about 10 minutes.
- Let them cool on the counter until the lids pop.
I am putting them in the jars now and the pears are absolutely delicious! Reminds me of my childhood…
The entire pot full of pears cooked down to be about 1/4 of the way full, so it will only make about 6 or 8 jars full of preserves.
Alden absolutely loves them, so I doubt they will last long around here. Looks like I will have to go back to the tree for more pears if I am going to have any for myself!
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