We harvested about 10 gallons of pears from our Bartlett tree. The Anjou tree didnt do nearly as well...we had some to eat fresh, but not to preserve. Maybe next year will be better for them. Or us.Pears can be a little tricky. It is a little known fact that pears are actually supposed to be harvested before they ripen. No ripening on the tree is what the research says. You want to pick them when they are mature, but not ripe...and that can be a very tricky thing. And once they are mature and you pick them, depending on the variety, they are then supposed to rest in a very cool place for anywhere from a couple days to appx 30 days. This can prove to be difficult to accomplish when you live in the desert.
At any rate, after a good scrubbin in the sink...
It was time to get to work. First order of business was pearsauce. Upon making the sauce tho, I realized that it just had a lot more moisture in it then when I made the applesauce. It was going to take forever to cook down. And I didnt want pear butter...altho, that does sound tasty.To remedy the moisture issue, I decided to grab the jelly bag and pour the cooked and already strained pears through that.
It worked like a dream. The sauce turned out very nice and thick.
And it was a win win for me. Straining the pears for a second time left me with a very nice version of pear juice.A little over 3 quarts of it actually.
Enough for 2 batches of pear jelly. Which gave me 18 jars.
And, of course, not to be forgotten are the pear crisps. Oh my goodness...they are heavenly.
I tell you what...these are not gonna make it till winter. As much as I would love to eat a nice, warm pear crisp this winter....yeah, Im thinking Ill be doing good to have any left by Thanksgiving.
And G was all business when he was capping these off.
He got really, really fast by the time we were all done.
And did I happen to mention that I have about 8 more wagon loads just like this that are waiting to be processed??? Anyone wanna come help me puree some pumpkins? I think I may have been a little over zealous in my pumpkin planting!
13 comments:
Your house must smell soooo good all the time!! You have to stay busy from sun up to sun down to get all that stuff done. Good thing you have a little helper :) I miss you so much!
sounds like your farm is producing a full time job for you! But it all looks fun and delicious!
Oh..I do so wish I was there helping you and the little guy..next time I'll have to plan my trip around harvest time I guess.
I love pear crisp! And your pear jelly looks so beautiful. I have only made apple jelly, never tried pear. I must do that sometime.
That is one amazing helper you have. Are you doing firewood this year?
I love the idea of the fruit crisps in the canning jars. thanks so much for sharing!
Wow! That's an amazing amount of fruit! You are certainly not going to be short this winter!
I'll come help with the pumpkins! How far away are you?
It's always so nice to find kindred spirits.
It must be so nice having so much food growing on your own land. Canning seems so hard and distant in time for those of us who can't do it.
That pear juice looks phenomenal - So does your pear jelly and pear crisps. But can I say...... your helper is getting SO BIG? Goodness, he's looking all not baby and stuff. *sigh* I'm so glad he's still a good helper.
I have pear envy, by the way :)
Did I mention my new-found love of pear sauce? Mmmmm....
Yum on the pear sauce. When you make the pear crisps this is a must trust me, add some fresh lemon zest. The lemon zest will make all the flavors stand out.
I have heard it said that all we can give our kids are memories and values. Moments like this, you are giving them both.
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