I made Belgian Pears of course!
I wound up giving away about half of the pears we had left. They were just too good not to share. What was still in the box desperately needed to be used, so I spent some time yesterday making Belgian Pears. I'm not sure why they're "Belgian" (apparently the recipe has nothing to do with being Belgian), but we'll go with it.
I was surprised at how easy it was to make these, and how truly yummy they are. The vinegar and sugar just helped to highlight the flavor of the pears. The syrup is wonderful by itself too, drizzled over ice cream. Next time I may add a little something extra to flavor them. I'm thinking possibly some vanilla, or caramel flavoring.
To make them, I used 4-1/2 lbs of pears, 2-1/3 cups apple cider vinegar, and 4 cups sugar. I peeled and cored the pears (though the original recipe said you didn't need to). Then I mixed together the vinegar and sugar until the sugar was dissolved. I then put everything into a big pan and simmered it together 3 hours with the lid on. I then simmered it all for 3 more hours with the lid off (for a total of 6 hours). After that was all cooked down, I put the pears into clean jars and covered them with the remaining liquid, leaving a 1" head space. I processed for 12 minutes at 8 lbs pressure.
I was surprised at how easy it was to make these, and how truly yummy they are. The vinegar and sugar just helped to highlight the flavor of the pears. The syrup is wonderful by itself too, drizzled over ice cream. Next time I may add a little something extra to flavor them. I'm thinking possibly some vanilla, or caramel flavoring.
To make them, I used 4-1/2 lbs of pears, 2-1/3 cups apple cider vinegar, and 4 cups sugar. I peeled and cored the pears (though the original recipe said you didn't need to). Then I mixed together the vinegar and sugar until the sugar was dissolved. I then put everything into a big pan and simmered it together 3 hours with the lid on. I then simmered it all for 3 more hours with the lid off (for a total of 6 hours). After that was all cooked down, I put the pears into clean jars and covered them with the remaining liquid, leaving a 1" head space. I processed for 12 minutes at 8 lbs pressure.
I love how pretty they look, and how truly delicious they are! It will be wonderful to bite into these when winter comes and it becomes more difficult to find fresh fruit.
So what exactly are Belgian Pears? They do sound yummy!
ReplyDeleteLaurieS
From what I gather, the general consensus is pears that are cooked down with vinegar and sugar. Somehow it comes together to taste just heavenly!
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