Honey’d Pears

Written by on in Breakfast, Meal Ideas, Puddings, Recipes
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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

Honey’d Pears

Print Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 15 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.