Tigress Can Jam 11 - Pear Chutney
Y'all... yum.
I sat down this month not sure what to do. The fiancee is allergic to pears and I've eaten almost all of the 30 lbs of apples we picked in October (so much for apple butter). I already made apple chutney, pear sauce seemed like something I wouldn't use, apple jam seemed boring and I just kept coming back to Lelonopo's pear chutney.
The fiancee rightly pointed out that cooked pears irritate her a lot less than raw and chutney is different than eating an actual pear. We had everything in the house aside from the pears, golden raisins and crystallized ginger. I made a couple adjustments - subbed grated fresh ginger for crystallized, added craisins and reduced the sugar. I don't really notice the reduced sugar at all and it's got just the right amount of bite. I can't wait to make a good grilled cheese sandwich with this.
This makes a lot. I had to pull out dump everything from my big jam pot into the dutch oven and I still had it overflowing. But it cooks down quickly to a lovely golden color. I used my apple peeler
apple peeler on the pears (they were very firm) with relative success.
It made a lot - 7 pints worth (broken down into half pints) - but I think it's going to make great appetizers and Christmas gifts.
Pear Chutney
1 cup blanched almonds
6 pounds ripe pears
1 3/4 cups coarsely chopped red bell pepper
3 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 1/3 cups golden raisins
1 cup dried cranberries
2 2/3 cups chopped dried apricots
1 2/3 cups chopped red onions
2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Place almonds in a 9-inch pan and bake in a 350° oven until golden, shaking pan occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes.
Peel, core, and chop pears; you should have 10.5 cups. In a very large pan, combine almonds, pears, bell pepper, sugar, vinegar, raisins, apricots, red onions, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, garlic salt, and cayenne. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-high and stir often until mixture is thick and reduced by a third, about an hour and fifteen minutes.
Leave 1/2" headspace in each jar and process jars for 10 minutes.
Makes 7 pints.
The Verdict: Wicked awesome. I had this on fresh bread with some cheddar cheese for dinner.
I sat down this month not sure what to do. The fiancee is allergic to pears and I've eaten almost all of the 30 lbs of apples we picked in October (so much for apple butter). I already made apple chutney, pear sauce seemed like something I wouldn't use, apple jam seemed boring and I just kept coming back to Lelonopo's pear chutney.
The fiancee rightly pointed out that cooked pears irritate her a lot less than raw and chutney is different than eating an actual pear. We had everything in the house aside from the pears, golden raisins and crystallized ginger. I made a couple adjustments - subbed grated fresh ginger for crystallized, added craisins and reduced the sugar. I don't really notice the reduced sugar at all and it's got just the right amount of bite. I can't wait to make a good grilled cheese sandwich with this.
This makes a lot. I had to pull out dump everything from my big jam pot into the dutch oven and I still had it overflowing. But it cooks down quickly to a lovely golden color. I used my apple peeler
apple peeler on the pears (they were very firm) with relative success.
It made a lot - 7 pints worth (broken down into half pints) - but I think it's going to make great appetizers and Christmas gifts.
Pear Chutney
1 cup blanched almonds
6 pounds ripe pears
1 3/4 cups coarsely chopped red bell pepper
3 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 1/3 cups golden raisins
1 cup dried cranberries
2 2/3 cups chopped dried apricots
1 2/3 cups chopped red onions
2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Place almonds in a 9-inch pan and bake in a 350° oven until golden, shaking pan occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes.
Peel, core, and chop pears; you should have 10.5 cups. In a very large pan, combine almonds, pears, bell pepper, sugar, vinegar, raisins, apricots, red onions, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, garlic salt, and cayenne. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-high and stir often until mixture is thick and reduced by a third, about an hour and fifteen minutes.
Leave 1/2" headspace in each jar and process jars for 10 minutes.
Makes 7 pints.
The Verdict: Wicked awesome. I had this on fresh bread with some cheddar cheese for dinner.