This is good served with ham or cheese, or warmed through with goose or duck.
Ingredients
- 2 lb small, hard pears
- 12 oz soft light brown sugar
- 1 pint white wine or cider vinegar
- rind of 1/2 a lemon, peeled off in strips using a potato peeler or paring knife
- 4 cloves
- 3" stick of cinnamon, snapped in half
- 2" piece of ginger, chopped into quarters
- 1 teaspoon juniper berries
- 2 teaspoons pepper corns
- sprig of rosemary
Method
- Put everything except the pears and rosemary into a large pan and slowly bring to the boil (stir occasionally to dissolve the sugar).
- Whilst the mixture heats up, peel the pears, quarter and remove the stalks and core.
- Add the pears to the pan and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- Add the rosemary and simmer for a further 5 minutes, or until the pears are tender.
- Put everything except the liquid into preserving jars.
- Boil the liquid rapidly without a lid for about 5 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced by about 1/3.
- Pour the liquid over the pears until just submerged.
- Seal the jars.
Tips
- As you peel the pears, put them into a bowl of water with a squeeze of lemon juice added; this will stop them turning brown.
- Leave to mature in a cool, dark place for about 1 month.
- Keeps well for about 6 months.
- Refrigerate after opening, and eat within 2 weeks.
