[Sca-cooks] Pear recipe, semi-period canning

[Louise Smithson]

Delurking in progress.
In response to the pear question, I recently cooked Wardonys in Syrup for the first time.  I had a lot of wine syrup left when everyone had eaten the pears so I decided to use it to can some more pears.  The original recipe is from Pleyn Delit, Medieval Recipes for Modern Cooks, Second Edition.  Constance B. Hiett, Brenda Hosingtona nd Sharon Butler.  University of Toronto Press.  Recipe #113.
Here is my redaction
Wine Syrup: 1 bottle wine (red or white dependent on what color pears you want), 1 cup sugar, 3 inch cinnamon stick broken up, 2 tsp ground ginger, 1 pinch saffron (omit if using red wine).  Mix together in a pan, heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Strain into a clean pan.
Meanwhile, peel, core and chop (I did quarters) the pears, wash and sterilize your canning jars and lids in hot water (10 minutes at 180°F).
Add the prepared pears to the hot syrup and bring to a boil.  Remove the pears in syrup from the heat, pack your hot pears into clean hot jars, fill to within ½ inch of the lid.  Remove any trapped air bubbles with a spatula.  Wipe rim and threads of jar.  Add lids and screw down bands finger tight.  Process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.  Following processing, remove jars from canner, and let them cool for 12 to 24 hours.  Test for a seal.  Remove bands, wipe jars and lids, label and store.
You now have a period dessert on hand to serve whenever you need one.  If you use white wine and saffron you get beautiful yellow pears, if you use red wine, you get red pears.  Do some of each and you can have two beautifully colored pears on the same plate.  Perfectly period and perfectly simple.

Helewyse de Birkestad,
Marche of the Marshes