Recipe: Pears in Wine

Recipe Source: Gardon, Anne.  Preserving for All Seasons.  Firefly Books, Willowdale, 1999 p. 91

I made this preserve to give some variety to the Christmas project.  It isn't properly a jam or jelly.  Instead, whole chunks of fruit are preserved in a spiced sugar and wine syrup.  When I made it, half of my pears had gone bad.  I therefore had significantly more syrup than pears.  This did not deter me.  Instead, I went out and bought more pears.  Since the syrup and the pears are bottled cold, I didn't have to worry about overcooking the syrup.  The only other real change that I made was to cut the pears up into smaller pieces, as I only had 4-oz jars on hand at the time. 

Pears in Wine (makes 19 4-oz jars; approx. cost per serving not available)

14 pears, peeled, stemmed, cored and chopped

2 cups water

2 cups red wine

1 cup sugar

4 whole cloves

1 whole star anise

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground coriander

Equipment:

• Saucepan
• Strainer
• 19 4-oz canning jars, with lids and bands
• Large stockpot
• Boiling water canner
• Tongs
• Ladle

1. Combine the water, sugar and spices in the saucepan over low heat. 
2. Heat gently until all of the sugar dissolves.
3. Let the syrup cool, then strain.
4. Pack the pears gently in the jars without bruising the fruit. 
5. Fill the jars with the syrup. 
6. Seal the jars and lower them into the canner.  You'll probably have to do this in batches. 
7. Fill the canner with water and bring to a rolling boil.
8. Process 30 minutes.
9. Cool, label and store.