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The picture tells the whole story in 4 frames. From white mass of sugar and pears to a honey colored thick preserve. What it can't give you is the wonderful taste of this preserve especially when mated to a fatty cheese like a triple creme brie or even better a tart stinky cheese like Stilton. Heaven. Sheer unadulterated pleasure on the palate.
Difficult? Hardly. Time consuming yes, but isn't anything worthwhile take a bit of time out of the day. If you can stir and watch a pot simmer you have the needed skill set.
The only special equipment you need is one of those canning car thingy's for lifting sterilized jars from their boiling water bath.
Pears are bountiful and cheap this time of year and it doesn't matter what variety you use. I had a plethora to chose from and went with the more common and easy to find Bartlett's.
Pear Honey Preserves
- 8 cups chopped pears (about 15)
- 8 cups sugar
- 1 c lemon juice
Peel, core and quarter pears. Slice pears into 1/2" slices.
Add pears to heavy bottom pan. I used a non-stick Calphalon pot for ease of clean up, a friend duplicating the recipe used a heavy stainless steel pan and the cooking time was considerably shorter than a non-stick pan.
Add sugar and toss to coat. Add lemon juice. Stir softly to dissolve sugar. Bring heat to medium high and stir until it comes to a boil. Once at a boil reduce heat to low and simmer 2-3 hours until syrupy and deep honey colored. Stir occasionally while simmering to keep from sticking to pan. Stir gently so as not to break up fruit chunks.
Once mixture has reached desired color and consistency ladle into sterilized jars and cap tightly with canning lids and rings.
Serve with cheese board or spoon into your morning oatmeal for a sweet treat.
