Pears

We have some wonderful friends with a pear tree who bring us a box of pears in the fall.    God bless generous friends.  I heart them.

I also heart free food.

But I have a real problem waiting for pears to ripen.   My floor can attest.  [Details here]  So, generally, when I get a load of pears, I corral the family and we spend a couple of hours peeling and paring and then I cook up a big pot of pears at once.   Even the hard ones.

It's just easier that way.

And then I have a gallon or so of soft cooked pears in the fridge so I can make fast jams when I have time.   I love that.

I put a lot of water in the pot because I'm famous for burning pear stuff.   Famous.  Of course, because I use so much water when I cook the pears, I get a lovely layer of pear juice when I'm done, which I use for pear jelly.

Pear Jelly is easy and lovely and the queen should be so lucky to have this as a filling in her tea cakes.  

Here's a recipe for a small batch:

Pear Jelly
2 cups pear juice [or the leftover 'water' that you get when you cook pears up]
2 tablespoons Ball Low Sugar pectin
1 cup sugar

Mix juice and pectin.  Heat to boil.  Boil 1 minute.   Add sugar.  Return to boil.   Boil one minute.   Ladle into jars.  Makes 1 pint.