Put that bounty of pears to delicious use
Because of readers' eagerness to help Terrie Martin Walker of Vancleave, Miss., today's column has a few more different pear recipes, including a pear relish and pear honey from two readers' mothers. Martin has promised to share which recipes worked best.
Carolyn Kinabrew of Biloxi, Miss., shares her mother's pear relish. This recipe is high on flavor with cinnamon, cloves, allspice and dry mustard.
"This relish is very good with peas, butter beans and other veggies," Kinabrew said.
MY MOM'S PEAR RELISH
1 gallon peeled ground pears
8 cups ground onions
8 sweet ground bell peppers
2 red sweet ground bell peppers
2 quarts white vinegar
3 tablespoons dry mustard
2- 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 teaspoons allspice
2 teaspoons cloves
2 teaspoons cinnamon
4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons turmeric
Mix in order given; cook over low heat until thickened. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the juice (pear) and mix with 1/2 cup plain flour to make paste.
Stir this in to almost cooked mixture to thicken. It takes a good while for this to cook down. When grinding pears, etc., save juice, if it runs from the mill, to put in mixture as it cooks.
Makes about 12 to 15 pints.
-- Submitted by Carolyn Kinabrew
Margaret Evans of Biloxi, who lived in North Mississippi, sent some pear recipes, not all relishes, from friends, family and cookbooks in North Mississippi.
"These are the pear recipes that I have," Evans said.
FRUIT CHUTNEY
4 quarts peaches, pears or apples
5 cups vinegar
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 pound raisins
1/4 pound white mustard seed
1 ounce ginger root
1 ounce red hot peppers
1 ounce garlic (optional)
Peel fruit. Remove stones or cores. Add 2 cups vinegar. Cook until soft. Add another cup of vinegar, chopped onion, sugar, raisins, mustard seed, scraped ginger root, red peppers and garlic.
Mix ingredients well. Add 2 cups vinegar. Boil mixture 15 minutes. Pack into sterilized jars and seal at once.
-- Submitted by Margaret Evans from "The Home Comfort Cookbook"
PICKLED PEACHES OR PEARS
12 pounds peeled fruit
1 quart vinegar
6 pounds sugar
1 tablespoon cloves
1 piece ginger root
4 or 5 sticks cinnamon
Make a syrup of vinegar and sugar and add spices, in bag to prevent darkening. Drop a few of the peaches or pears into the boiling syrup at a time.
Cook until fruit can be readily pierced with a straw (I am assuming a straw from the broom, not a drinking straw), let stand in covered kettle overnight.
Next day pack into clean jar, covering fruit to within 1/2 inch of the top with the syrup. Process in water bath at simmering temperature (180 degrees) for 20 minutes. Or fruit may again be brought to boil, packed into jars, and covered with boiling syrup to be sealed at once.
-- Submitted by Margaret Evans from "The Home Comfort Cookbook"
"The following recipe is from a handwritten recipe, not my mother's handwriting, inside the cookbook," Evans said.
MINCED PEARS
1 gallon pears, cut real fine
6 cups sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon cloves
1/2 cup vinegar
2 boxes raisins
Measure in the sugar, vinegar and seasonings. Let come to a boil. Drop in pears and raisins and cook until tender. Seal in steriIized jars.
-- Submitted by Margaret Evans
"This recipe is in the cookbook 'Newton's Favorite Recipes' and was submitted by Mrs. Sam May. It is very similar to the one you published last week," Evans said.
PEAR RELISH
2 quarts ground pears
2 quarts ground onions
4 sweet red peppers
2 tablespoons salt
4 cups sugar
2 medium-size pods hot pepper
12 dill pickles
2 tablespoons mustard
1 tablespoons turmeric
2 quarts vinegar
Grind pears, onions, peppers, pickles, and drain. Mix well and add salt, sugar and tumeric. Stir thoroughly and add vinegar. Cook for about 10 minutes after it begins to boil or until desired consistency. Makes 16 pints.
-- Submitted by Margaret Evans from "Newton's Favorite Recipes." Recipe by Mrs. Sam May
Easy pickles
Canning and pickling is intimidating, especially if you are a novice cook. I found this Mr. Food recipe that takes fear out of the equation. I tried and suggest readers do, too.
MICROWAVE PICKLES
1 large cucumber, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
In a microwaveable 2-quart bowl, combine all ingredients; mix well. Microwave uncovered at 80 percent power 5 minutes, stirring halfway through. Allow pickles to cool. Cover and chill at least 2 hours before serving.
-- Recipe by Mr. Food
What's in your slow cooker?
Now that parents and grandparents are getting children ready for school, time is important. There is little time for cooking, so it is time to pull out the slow cooker and let it do the work for you. Tell fellow readers what you cook in the slow cooker.
Andrea Yeager, can be reached at ayeager51@cableone.net and takes contributions or requests at Cook's Exchange, P.O. Box 4567, Biloxi, MS 39535-4567.
This story was originally published July 30, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Put that bounty of pears to delicious use ."