Honey’d Pears

May 15, 2020

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We are so spoilt for fruit in the summer months here, that when Autumn comes we are still craving sweet fruit.

We have a beautiful old house at the backyards which has a few scraggly pear trees. This year however none fruited and I was disappointed.

So when a friend offered a bag of pears from the Hakataramea Valley I was excited to get a few jars preserved. These honey’d pears are beautiful in winter on porridge.

I was also lucky to have been given a incredible jar of Southland Wildflower Honey from Miele Apiaries and I knew that it would be perfect for this recipe. You can get yours at https://mieleapiaries.co.nz/

Wash your jars in hot soapy water
Sterilise the jars in a hot oven

When the bag was dropped off we couldn’t believe the quality of the pears. They were beautiful eating and so I really delayed bottling them.
In fact, Flora self appointed herself ‘pear control’, while I was peeling the pears making sure I was only bottling the soft ones.

Cut a hole in the middle of a piece of baking paper and place it on top of the pears to avoid them going brown
Before bottling skim the top for foam
Print Recipe

Honey’d Pears

Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time15 minutes

Ingredients

Syrup

  • 2 litres Water
  • ½ cup Sugar
  • 1 cup Honey
  • 6 Star Anise

Pears

  • 5 kg Pears

Instructions

Syrup

  • Place all the syrup items in a jam pan and bring to the boil
  • Stir occasionally

Preparing the Pears

  • Peel and quarter the pears while you wait for the syrup to boil.
  • Have a bowl of cold water to plunge the quartered pears into while you finish the batch.
  • Add the pears to the syrup, and place a piece of baking paper over the top with a little hole for air. 
    This will stop the pears from browning. 

Preparing the Jars

  • Wash your jars in hot soapy water and sterilise them in a hot oven. 
  • I place the jars in a hot oven (180 degrees for 15 mins)
  • Pour boiling water over the lids or seals.

Bottling the Pears

  • Once the pears have reached a boil (I like a firm poached pear – so boil a bit longer if you like it softer) turn off the element.
  • Carefully remove the hot jars from the oven.
  • Place the pears in into the hot jars and fill to the top with syrup.
  • Place a seal on top and press it down while you screw the band on tightly.
  • Once the jars are cooled.  Remove the bands and check the seals. 
  • Wash the jars to remove any sticky syrup.
  • If the jar doesn’t seal I would recommend placing in a water bath to re-process it.