Spiced Pickled Pears Recipes

Steps:

• Drain pears, reserving syrup; set the pears aside. In a small saucepan, combine the syrup, brown sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add pears and simmer for about 5 minutes more or until heated through.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, toast the cloves, shaking the pan, until they're very aromatic. Add the sugar, vinegar and salt, and bring up to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, peel the pears, and halve them lengthwise, if needed, to fit the pan. (You can pick out the seeds if you like.) Carefully place the pears in the syrup, and simmer gently.
• Stir the pears every few minutes, to make sure they cook evenly, especially if the hot syrup doesn't completely submerge them. Cook them until they are just tender at their thickest parts; check with a toothpick after 15 minutes of cooking. When the pears are ready, remove the pan from the heat and place a clean plate on top of the pears to keep them submerged in the vinegar syrup. Allow to cool for six hours or overnight.
• Serve right away, store in the refrigerator or can. If you store them in the fridge, you can separate the pears and syrup and use them independently. If you plan on canning, Lewis instructs you to strain the syrup and boil it for 5 minutes. Pack the pears in jars, cover with the hot syrup and process according to your jar manufacturer's directions.

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients except pear in a small saucepan. Add 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes to meld flavors. Remove from heat and let sit until warm.
• Place pear cubes in a 12-ounce jar with a tight-sealing lid. Add warm pickling liquid. Let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Cover and chill. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 week ahead. Keep chilled.

Steps:

• Pare the zest from the lemon or orange and put in a pan with the cloves, peppercorns, allspice berries, root ginger, lemon or orange juice, vinegar, cinnamon sticks and sugar. Stir over a gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved.
• Peel, core and halve the pears, then add to the pan and simmer for 15 mins, until the pears are tender. Remove the pears with a slotted spoon and put in a colander to drain. Meanwhile, increase the heat under the syrup and boil rapidly for 15 mins, until the syrup has reduced by about a third and slightly thickened.
• Pack the fruit into warmed jars and pour over the hot syrup to cover. Seal, label and store in a cool dry place for a month before using.

Steps:

• Soak pears in water& fruit fresh/lemon juice to keep from browning.
• Tie pickling spice, ginger and cloves in a spice bag.
• Prepare liquid-combine spice bag, sugar, water, vinegar and lemon slices in a large stainless or enamel pot.
• Bring to a boil, cover and boil for 5 min.
• Add enough pears to create a single layer in liquid and poach for 7 min-drain with slotted spoon and place in a large bowl.
• Repeat until all pears are poached.
• Pour the liquid over poached pears, cover and let stand 18-24 hours in a cool spot.
• Remove pears and discard spice bag and lemons.
• Bring liquid to a boil.
• Pack pears into clean, hot jars.
• Pour boiling liquid to cover leaving 1/2 inch head space.
• Remove bubbles and seal.
• Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes at altitudes up to 1000 feet.

Steps:

• Put the vinegar, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and allspice berries into a large pan over low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer.
• Meanwhile, start peeling the pears, keeping them whole and with stems attached. Stud each pear with 2 or 3 cloves and add to the hot vinegar. Simmer the pears very gently for 15 to 25 minutes, until they are tender but not too soft. Remove with a slotted spoon and pack them into warm, sterilized jars (see p. 21).
• Bring the spiced vinegar syrup to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, then strain it over the pears. Cover the jars with vinegar-proof lids (see p. 22). Keep for at least 1 month before using. Use within 1 year.
• Different spices can be used - try cardamom and coriander, with a flake or two of dried chile.
• Plunge 2 1/4 pounds of peaches into a pan of boiling water for 1 minute, then remove. Immerse them in cold water briefly, then peel. Proceed as for the pear recipe, but simmer the peaches for only 3 to 4 minutes.
• Prick 2 1/4 pounds of crab apples all over with a needle or skewer (this will prevent the skins bursting). Use well-colored ornamental varieties.

Steps:

• Place all the ingredients, except pears, in a large, heavy-based pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil.
• Put pears in an earthenware bowl and pour boiled liquid over. Cover and leave over-night.
• Strain off the liquid and boil for 10 - 15 minutes, to reduce the volume to about 425 ml.
• Pour back over fruit and set aside for 12 hours.
• Bring fruit and liquid to boil and cook for one minute.
• Remove pears with a slotted spoon and pack into clean, hot and dry preserving jars.
• Bring syrup back to boil and pour over pears.
• Seal jars immediately and allow to cool.

Steps:

• Peel, wash, and dry the pears (julienne if you choose to -- ).
• Place all the remaining ingredients in an oversize glass jar.
• Mix well (non-metallic utensil, wood preferred) to ensure all the ingredients are dissolved.
• Add the pears to the jar, mix again, and cover tightly.
• Keep in refrigerator, undisturbed, for at least 3 days before use.
• These pears will keep refrigerated for at least 6 months.

Steps:

• Core the pears and set inside a baking dish. An old fashioned peeler with the pointy tip works well for this.
• Combine the craisins, walnuts and orange peel. Set aside.
• In a saucepan, combine the rest of the ingredients over medium-low heat for 2-5 minutes or until combined and bubbly.
• Take a pinch of your craisin mix and stuff into bottom of each pear. Stir in the rest of the craisin mix into your bubbly sauce.
• Ladle the hot sauce into each pear.
• Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven till the pears are soft. (Usually 30-40 minutes) Check on the pears halfway through. If they look like they are going to burn, cover with foil till the last 5 minutes.
• Let stand at least 5 minutes. Put each pear on a plate then ladle some of the escaped sauce over the pear and drizzle around the plate for presentation.
• Tip: If you don't have any orange peel handy, substitute orange juice for the water.
• Tip: The sauce will escape through the bottom. Don't sweat it. Just ladle it back in after baking. The nut/craisin mix in the bottom helps with this.
• Tip: I know the baking time is a little ambiguous, be we move around a lot and I've made this in several different ovens. It's hard to "kill" these. Just test the pears with a fork. When the tops get that pretty caramel color and they're soft, they're ready.
• Tip: This works with any pear, just adjust the baking time depending on the firmness of the pear. Firmer=longer. I like Bartlett pears because they're fat and stand up on their own better.

Steps:

• Put the sugar, vinegar, orange zest and juice, ginger, bay leaves and peppercorns in a large pan. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar, then boil for 5 mins.
• Meanwhile, peel, core and halve or quarter the pears, depending on size. Add the pears to the pan and poach gently for 10-15 mins until they are just tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and pack into warm sterilised Kilner jars with rubber seals (see tip below).
• Boil the vinegar mixture hard to reduce by a third, then pour over the pears, including the spices. The pears need to be completely covered with the liquid. Fit the rubber seal and clamp the jar tightly closed. Reserve any leftover syrup for topping up the jars later, as the pears will absorb the syrup over time. Store for up to 2 months.

Steps:

• Immediately place peeled and quartered pears in cold water with lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown.
• In a 3-gallon stockpot, blend vinegar, sugar, water and spices.
• Drain pears, add to pot and bring to a rolling boil.
• Reduce heat to simmer and cook until pears are tender and can be pierced with a fork.
• Cool then refrigerate overnight to give the flavors time to meld. Drain brine then serve.

Steps:

• Put the vinegar, sugar and spices into a large saucepan with 500ml of water. Heat gently to melt the sugar. Meanwhile, peel the pears, halve, then scoop out the core with a teaspoon or melon-baller. Add the pears to the pan, they should be just about covered with the liquid, then bring to a simmer for 25-30 mins. Test the pears with a tip of a knife - they should be just tender. Lift out with a slotted spoon and put into a large Kilner jar or a few smaller ones. Boil the liquid down to about 600ml, then pour over the pears to cover. Seal and store in the fridge for up to a week, before serving.
• On Christmas Day, remove the pears from the fridge so they come up to room temperature. To serve, thickly slice and toast the bread and slice the cheese into thin wedges. Lift the pears from the jar and layer up with the cheese on a large platter or board, then scatter with some leaves. Serve with the bread.