harvest
well another yrs garden harvest is comming to a close.
and work is slowing down to well a trickle.
plus side i now have a bit of time for kitchen things.
and i'm happily multi tasking as we 'speak'.
apples. quinces, mustard, chicken stock, rocket pesto, beetroot and if there is time i may indulge in some baking although the oven repair man hasn't shown up as yet.
but what i thought i'd share is a fab way of preserving pears, that will wow your guests.
poached pears
for the recipe you need firm, smallish pears (ie winter cole or such)cont under cut
.peal pears leaving whole, stem intact, but carefully removing core, place standing up in a single layer in a large non reactive pot.
almost cover with wine, cider or fruit juice. my fav is half port half redwine,but quantity rather than quality is the key! depending on the budget even sugar syrup works. add enough sugar so as the poaching liquid is sweet but not sweeter than the pears. at this point you can add spices of your choice (use whole spices rather than ground).
cover, and bring to the boil. cook for 1-2 mins then, turn off and leave at least 12 hrs or a day or so if pos. (i leave in a cool place but not the fridge, )
when ready to bottle, bring back to the boil, and cook for 5 -6 mins. very carefully place whole pears in hot sterile clean jars,taking care not to crush out of shape. (you can add some whole spices for decoration at this point if you like) fill jars with hot syrup.
if you want you can add a tablespoon of liquer to each jar. quickly seal using the overflow method. allow to cool.
clean outside of jars well before putting away.
the remaining liquid can be used 4-5 times, topping up as neccessary.
when you want a special dessert with almost no prep time, drain syrup, empty jar into bowl (serve cold , warmed or hot, i like to microwave til just warm) then carefully place 1 pear in centre of a flat plate, serve with any of, vanilla icecream, whipped cream, cream anglese, custard, or marscapone. heat syrup and reduce (or thicken slightly) and drizzle over top.
with port/ redwine, i use similar spices to mulled wine, with cider maybe vanilla and root ginger, or lavender! sparling wine maybe cinnamon and thyme. i have used triple sec, brandy, apple brandy, cassis and mead at different times.
i found a bottle last yr that was 4 yrs old, the syrup had lost all the red wine colour into the fruit. and they were much softer than previous bottles but oh so yummy.
cheers
and work is slowing down to well a trickle.
plus side i now have a bit of time for kitchen things.
and i'm happily multi tasking as we 'speak'.
apples. quinces, mustard, chicken stock, rocket pesto, beetroot and if there is time i may indulge in some baking although the oven repair man hasn't shown up as yet.
but what i thought i'd share is a fab way of preserving pears, that will wow your guests.
poached pears
for the recipe you need firm, smallish pears (ie winter cole or such)cont under cut
.peal pears leaving whole, stem intact, but carefully removing core, place standing up in a single layer in a large non reactive pot.
almost cover with wine, cider or fruit juice. my fav is half port half redwine,but quantity rather than quality is the key! depending on the budget even sugar syrup works. add enough sugar so as the poaching liquid is sweet but not sweeter than the pears. at this point you can add spices of your choice (use whole spices rather than ground).
cover, and bring to the boil. cook for 1-2 mins then, turn off and leave at least 12 hrs or a day or so if pos. (i leave in a cool place but not the fridge, )
when ready to bottle, bring back to the boil, and cook for 5 -6 mins. very carefully place whole pears in hot sterile clean jars,taking care not to crush out of shape. (you can add some whole spices for decoration at this point if you like) fill jars with hot syrup.
if you want you can add a tablespoon of liquer to each jar. quickly seal using the overflow method. allow to cool.
clean outside of jars well before putting away.
the remaining liquid can be used 4-5 times, topping up as neccessary.
when you want a special dessert with almost no prep time, drain syrup, empty jar into bowl (serve cold , warmed or hot, i like to microwave til just warm) then carefully place 1 pear in centre of a flat plate, serve with any of, vanilla icecream, whipped cream, cream anglese, custard, or marscapone. heat syrup and reduce (or thicken slightly) and drizzle over top.
with port/ redwine, i use similar spices to mulled wine, with cider maybe vanilla and root ginger, or lavender! sparling wine maybe cinnamon and thyme. i have used triple sec, brandy, apple brandy, cassis and mead at different times.
i found a bottle last yr that was 4 yrs old, the syrup had lost all the red wine colour into the fruit. and they were much softer than previous bottles but oh so yummy.
cheers