Pears cooking in the syrup, which smells WONDERFUL!
That's what I've been making this morning, and will make another batch when I get some more pears tomorrow. They'll make lovely Christmas gifts. You can also adapt this recipe to use peaches.
Thinly pared rind and juice of one small lemon
2 level teaspoons cloves
2 level teaspoons allspice berries
2 cinnamon sticks, each 5cm (2") long
1 small piece dried ginger root, bruised (I had fresh, so used that instead)
1 litre (1 3/4 pints)white wine vinegar or distilled malt vinegar (I used organic cider vinegar as that's what I had in the house)
150ml (1/4 pint) water
1 kg (2lb 2oz) caster sugar
2.3 kg (5 lbs) firm William pears, peeled, halved and cored OR
1.8 kg (4 lb) ripe but firm peaches, halved, skinned and stoned
Prep. time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 4 mins
Standing time: 3 days
Tie the lemon rind and spices in a small square of muslin. Pour the vinegar and the water into a preserving pan, add the lemon juice, spices and sugar and stir over a moderate heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the fruit to the syrup and simmer for 15 mins or until just tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fruit to a colander, set over a large bowl, to drain. Discard the bag of spices.
Boil the syrup for 15 mins or until reduced by about a third and slightly thickened. Pack the fruit into warmed jars and cover with the syrup. Cover immediately with vinegarproof lids and seal tightly. Refrigerate any leftover syrup.
After three days, open the jars, pour the syrup into a saucepan and add any reserved syrup. Bring to the boil, boil for three minutes, then pour back over pears, cover and seal immediately. Label and store in a cool, dark, airy cupboard for at least a month before using. (The jar I was given as a gift had a piece of cinnamon quill in it, so I have done this too.)
Oh, and here are today's pickled onions. I have some more to peel - can only do one batch at a time as my eyes were really streaming peeling them on Wednesday. I did a cold pickle for them, so there are pickling spices, a cinnamon quill, and some cloves in there to give flavour.
