Bottling Pears

The pears are perfect at the moment and really at their cheapest. There are so many wonderful varieties freely available at the moment. Here is a little tip for those in the North of Tasmania; Brendan from Lee's Orchards sells his many varieties of apples and pears at the Evandale Markets and are the best value for money. We rang Brendan on the Saturday and asked him to take a 10kg box of green pears suitable for bottling to the market for us on Sunday as it is closer for us and we save fuel. He is selling pears for around $1.50/kg. He also has Beurre Boc and the red ones (forget the name) available and they do door sales at the orchard.

Today I processed 15 bottles of pears in the Vacola outfit. I have the big gripstand bowl by the sink filled with acidulated water (lemon juice in the water) and as I peel the pears they go in there. Then they are quartered and cored and packed into number 31 jars and topped up with acidulated water (I don't find any need to use sugar) and make sure all the air bubbles are removed. After the lids are clipped into place they go into the outfit (1950s classic) on top of the stove and brought up to 92C on moderate heat. This takes about 45-60mins and then I hold at 92C for another 45mins.

They are allowed to cool in the pot till they can be safely handled. Leave the clips in place till the next day then remove and test for sealing.

I love having pears on hand for emergency desserts when people call in. They are great for flans or crumbles or simply plain with custard. They are also used for dressing my morning WeetBix too.

Brendan was very surprised when I told him I even roast pears like a vegetable when doing a winter roast. A great combination to remember and very simple is the Ps; Roast, pork, parsnip, pears, potatoes. I toss all in olive oil and some Tasmanian Bush Dust and roast. Delicious! They all compliment each other so well.