Pear Honey Preserves
Submitted by frick on October 30, 2008 at 8:51 pm

10 cups pear pulp (cut in about 1/2" pieces)
5 cups sugar
1 large can crushed pineapple
chopped ginger (be generous), I use minced crystallized ginger, probably about 2 Tbs., but you may use fresh if you like

You should use fully ripe pears that yield slightly to pressure. Too soft will result in pear sauce; too firm may result in crunchy preserves (this happened to me once and I will never make THAT mistake again).

Cook until thick and amber colored in a 4-5 quart heavy bottom pot. These are all the instructions I have in my little handwritten personal cookbook, but if you have made preserves/jam before, just use standard preserving instructions. The liquid from the pineapple will dissolve the sugar considerably, but you might pour the sugar over the pears and let stand one hour, to extrude some juices if they appear dry.

I have no notes on yield but make these every year. I usually sterilize 5 to 6 jars, half pints and pints. The yield will probably be around 5 8-oz jars. Follow traditional preserving instructions, as in the Ball Canning Book. T

his is heretical but I do not process these in a water bath, nor do I refrigerate if the lid clicks down. That said, I cannot advise you to do the same, since that would not be prudent.