Pear compote – a simple way to preserve pears and retain taste

Did you know that pears are a great fruit for canning! Even after cooking pears retain their shape, colour and texture very well. Although pears are traditionally preserved in a syrup, you can also preserve them in water, for example. The preservative liquid works more like the aromatic element… So, if you decide to can pear, choose firm fruits without any signs of wilting or damage. If you can, use pears that are not fully ripe. Pears that are too ripe contain less acid and may float in the liquid. The interesting fact is that the natural consistency of the pear preserves the fruit and not the preservation liquid.

Ingredients

• 2,400 ml of water,
• 2 tablespoons of wine vinegar or lemon juice,
• 3,600 g of pears,
• 1,200 to 1,500 ml of grape or apple juice, or sugar syrup.

Photo: Pixabay

Preparation for canning

Mix water with wine vinegar or lemon juice. Peel the fruit and cut it in half. Remove cores and stems. Put pears in the acidified water (you can cut them into quarters or even smaller pieces if you like). Now, you need to drain them. Boil the syrup, apple or grape juice in the pot and while it boils add the sliced pears and cook for 2 minutes.

Canning

Prepare your canning glasses – they must be hot (fill each glass with hot water and only pour the water out before you start putting the fruit in. Fill glasses with the fruit and leave about 1.5 cm of free space between the last fruit and the top of the glass. Pour the hot water/syrup where you cooked the slices into the glasses. Wipe the edges clean with a damp paper or cloth. The edges must be clean Close glasses with lids and cook them in a boiling water (20 minutes for½ l glasses and about 25 minutes for 1 l glasses). When done remove them and let them cool down. As soon as they are cool, you may use them for consumption or you may store them.

Preview photo: Pixabay