Pear Syrup Food

PRICKLY PEAR SYRUP

Steps:

• Take your de-thorned prickly pears and cut them in half.
• Scoop out the middle fruit and add to a pot with the water and sugar.
• Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to simmer.
• Allow the mixture to simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. When the mixture thickens, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
• Take a soup ladle and add one scoop of the mixture to a strainer. (Make sure the strainer is over a bowl.)
• Use a spoon to press the prickly pear mixture into the strainer to get all of the liquid out. Empty the strainer of the seeds and thick pulp and repeat until you do this with all of the prickly pear mixture.
• Chill for one hour.

CANNING PEARS {PRESERVED PEARS}

Steps:

• Prepare your water bath canner by filling it with water. You just need to have enough water to cover the jars by 2 inches once the water is boiling.
• Set the canner on the stove. Turn the burner to high. Once it reaches a boil, reduce it to simmer. You want to keep the water hot so that everything is ready when the pears are.
• Wash and sanitize your jars. You'll want to keep them warm to avoid having them crack when placed in the canner. You can fill them with hot water, or place them on a tray in the oven at 170F.
• Wash your lids with hot soapy water and place them in a clean bowl for now.
• Fill a large bowl halfway with water and mix in 1/3 cup of bottled lemon juice.
• Cut the tops and bottoms off of the fruit.
• Using a vegetable peeler, peel off all the pear skins.
• After that, cut the pear in half from the top to the bottom.
• Take the paring knife and make a cut from the stem to the bottom on one side. Repeat on the other side, then jiggle the core out. Discard the core, and put the pear in the water with the lemon juice.
• When the bowl is getting full of skinned/cored pears, start the syrup. In a large pot, mix 1 cup of sugar per 6 cups of water and heat over medium.
• (Hot pack option) Once the syrup is boiling, add the pears one layer at a time (a canning term that means don't totally fill the pot) and heat for 5 minutes.
• (Hot pack option) Using a fork, grab the now softened pears one at a time, and put them cavity side down in the canning jar.
• (Raw pack option) use a fork and place pears cavity side down in the canning jar.
• Return the burner under the canner back to high to get the water back to a rolling boil.
• Using a canning funnel and a ladle, slowly pour the hot syrup into the jars until the pears are completely covered. Leave 1/2 inch of headspace. Headspace is defined as the space between the top of the food and the top of the jar.
• Remove the bubbles from the jar (I use a plastic chopstick).
• Use a wet clean rag and wipe the rim of the jars to make sure it is free of any food or syrup.
• Place a clean lid and ring on the jar and tighten the ring to fingertip tight.
• Using canning tongs, add jars to the boiling water, and put the canner lid on. Pro tip: you must have at least 2 inches of water over the tops of the jars for safe canning.
• Once your jars are completely covered with the boiling water, put the lid on and boil for 20 minutes (pints) or 25 minutes (quarts).
• Once your jars are starting to process, fill up your next 6-7 jars with hot pears, syrup, etc.
• When the time is up, remove the canner from heat, and let sit for 5 minutes.
• Remove the jars using canning tongs and place them on towels on the counter undisturbed for 12-24 hours.
• After everything has cooled, check the seal by pushing down on the middle of the lid. If it doesn't give way, it's sealed. If the lid bows a little bit, put that in the fridge and use it within 3 weeks.
• Label the sealed jars, and store in a cool dark place for up to a year.

PEAR PANCAKES

Steps:

• Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl.
• In a separate medium bowl, beat the egg. Add the milk, syrup and oil and mix will well.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the pear pieces.
• Set a a skillet or a large frying pan to medium heat and spray generously with cooking spray.
• Dollop the batter in 1/4 cup amounts per pancake. Cook until the edges look dry and bubble form all over the top. Flip and cook until the underside is golden brown.

PEAR SYRUP

Steps:

• Cut up any amount of pears. Put in pot and just cover with water. Boil for one hour until mushy. Take off and mash with a potato masher. Put into cheesecloth and strain over a large pot overnight. To strained juice add just over 2/3 cup sugar for each cup of juice. Boil solution for 2 hours, until golden brown. Watch carefully to assure it does not boil over. Put into sterile jars.

CANNING PEARS

Steps:

• Start by preparing jars and getting water in the canner heating. You want the canner hot, but not boiling, when the jars are ready to be processed.See full water bath canning instructions here.

MANGO PEAR SYRUP

Steps:

• Blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth.
• Heat in a pan on low heat while continually stirring until reaching a boil.
• Immediately remove from heat and serve on your favorite pancakes or waffles. We serve this on our Waffles Perfect.

PRICKLY PEAR SYRUP

Steps:

• With the tip of a sharp knife, scrape off the thorns of the prickly pears. Cut off the ends of the fruit and then make a lengthwise slit through the skin and peel off and discard the skin. Repeat with the remaining fruit. Cut the fruit into large pieces, transfer to a food processor and process until pureed. Strain through a fine sieve. There should be approximately 2 cups of liquid.
• In a saucepan, combine the prickly pear puree, water, sugar, mint, and the cinnamon stick. Be sure to scrape the seeds from the vanilla, and then put both the seeds and the pod into the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 20 minutes.
• Taste to make sure that the flavors are balanced. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Use the syrup to ladle over fresh fruits.

PRICKLY PEAR MARGARITA

Steps:

• For the cocktail: Combine the tequila, triple sec, lime juice, agave, prickly pear syrup and chile flakes in a cocktail shaker and incorporate all the ingredients by shaking it to your own rhythm.
• For the garnish: Pour some lime juice on a saucer. Mix together the sugar and salt on a separate saucer. Dip the rim of a 10-ounce glass into the lime juice and then dip the rim into the sugar and pink salt mixture. Fill the glass with ice, pour in the cocktail and garnish with prickly pear, if using, and a lime slice.
• Holding each prickly pear with metal tongs, lightly graze the fruit with a flame until the glochids (thorns) are singed off. Place the fruit in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and cover with water. Bring to boil, cover and let sit off the heat for 25 to 35 minutes.
• Line a fine-mesh sieve with cheesecloth. Strain the liquid through it into a medium heatproof bowl, mashing the fruit with a spoon until all the fruit is mashed.
• Pour the contents of the bowl into the same saucepan and discard the solids; stir in the sugar, bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the lime zest and juice. Let simmer about 15 more minutes; remove from the heat, let cool and refrigerate.