Kameel Stoepstorie: The abundance of pears

 There is a pear tree in our neighbour’s garden but we are fortunate that a couple of branches arched into our driveway. On a windy day, the pears would end-up on our driveway and be too bruised to eat or use. Every year we would safe some but end up with a bottle or two chutney or perhaps a starter of blushing poached pears.

This year there was a good crop of little Hood pears hanging over our driveway.

A little research and we were ready for our harvest. Pears ripen from the inside out. Left to ripen on the tree, they may become mushy. They ripen quite nicely once harvested. The old trick of storing the pears in a cool, dry place and the add of bananas did the trick. I put the bananas on top of the pears—and the more bananas, the faster the pears ripen.

Yesterday was Mulled Pear day.

We peeled and core the pears and let it sit in a bowl with salt water to prevent the pears to turn brown

 First, the oven needs to be preheated to 150oC.

Then it was time to make the Mulled syrup. I used crab apples to give the syrup a nice pink colour. Once there was a nice pink colour in the water. The crab apples were removed.

Then cinnamon, star Aniseeds, gloves and allspice were added to the crab apple water.

The water was put to a rapid boil and then sugar was added. The sugar was then added and once the sugar dissolved a good bottle of red wine was added. A Merlot is a fruity wine that adds to the flavour. The smells from the big pot were divine. It reminded us of my Mom and the many bottles that she filled during the summer months. Her speciality was canned whole peaches. We called it to cling peaches because the pip was left inside and when eating the whole peach you have to cling on to it or it would fly over the dining table.

 The syrup was then strained through a muslin cloth and I must say the colour was looking just right.

The pears pack into warm, sterilized jars. Pears are very bottom-heavy and I find that you have to fill the bottles with more pears than originally though. Heat the syrup to boil and pour into the jars.

Cover the jars with lids, but do not tighten it properly. Place the jars about 5cm apart in the oven for about 2 hours. This will also depend on the size of the jars.

 Remove from the oven and seal properly and place on a wooden surface. Leave undisturbed until completely cool and check the seal the following day.

 It will last for about 12 months on the shelf of your canning cupboard.

The proof is always in the tasting. For an early evening, we had mulled pears, with Parma Ham and Goat’s Cheese Salad

Till next time

Hennie & Sandra