Pear Honey  

I looked at several recipes online and after checking with my mom (an experienced canner) I didn't follow any of the recipes. Here's what I did...

Peeled and cut up a bunch of slightly overripe pears, tossed them (with the peelings) in a really big pot and barely covered them with water. Brought this to a boil and then covered and simmered until the pears were mushy.

Used a potato masher to break up the pears and simmered for about another 20 mintutes. Strained this thru a cotton cloth [flat cotton diapers (not prefold) are great for this and you can by them cheap at Walmart] and measured the resulting liquid.

For the first batch, I had 10 cups. This went into a stainless steel pot and half that amount of sugar was added. So for 10 cups of juice I added 5 cups of sugar. I also added about 1/8 to 1/4 of a cup of lemon juice (to taste) and a teaspoon of vanilla (again, to taste). Brought this to a boil and simmered on med-low until it was as thick I liked. You can test for this by spooning a little on a saucer and sticking it in the fridge to cool down and then see if it is as thick as you want.

For the second batch I had 8 cups of juice so I added 4 cups of sugar, the lemon and vanilla, and it was cooked in the crockpot, on high, with the top off and an cloth draped over it. It took longer to get thick but I didn't have to stand and stir it toward the end, to keep it from burning.

For both batches, as soon as they were ready and still good and hot (keep them on low while you work) I ladled them into hot sterilized jars, wiped the rim, set the lids (these were kept ready in *very* HOT water) and screwed down the rings. Then I put the jars together on a towel and draped another towel over them so they would cool down slowly. Mom always does this and says it helps them seal better. They all sealed perfectly.

So there you have it. Not quite a recipe, but certainly a method you can follow to make your own Pear Honey. And it is SO worth it. Yum! See for yourself.






This entry was posted on Monday, August 22, 2011 and is filed under . You can leave a response and follow any responses to this entry through the Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) .

9 comments

Oh Wow! That really even looks like honey! Yum! I've never made this before. I should go see if my favorite pear tree has any ripe pears. thxs.

You're welcome, Beth. Let me know if you like it.

I TRIED!! It was in the pot for hours and never seemed to thicken-then I had to go to bed and so I put it in a crockpot on low ALL NIGHT and while the color deepened, it still didn't thicken?! What should I do? HELP!!

When I did it in the crockpot, I took the lid off and covered the crockpot with a towel (put a spatula or something across the middle to keep the towel from falling in) so moisture could evaporate better. If I remember correctly, it took close to two days.

It was only about as thick as maple syrup. When it cools it thickens more.

I cooked one batch until it was thicker than maple syrup and after we opened a jar and it got cold in the fridge, it was too thick to pour. LOL! So you don't want it really thick when hot, because it will be like molasses in the fridge.

Oh wow-two days-I can swing that! Thanks!

Anonymous  

My Mom and Grandmother always put pineapple in their pear honey.

I've looked all over for a solid pear honey recipe that didn't dampen down the integrity of the pear and it's taste. A LOT of the recipes out there have pineapple in it. Don't get me wrong, I've tried it and it's delish but I really loved the sound of this recipe because it was all about the pears. I was a little nervous when following your recipe because it was not written with exact measurements and I don't trust myself sometimes when it comes to cooking and baking. I'm happy to report that it turned out REALLY well. I'm super stoked on the color and clarity of the product. Great recipe! Thank you so much for sharing.

About how many cups of cut up pears did you use to get your 10 cups of liquid? We are swimming in pears so I have plenty but just wanted a good estminate of how much to start out with.

I just made two batches. One was 10 C. The 2nd was 16 C. Turned out fabulous.