Pear Relish

What do you do when your brother-in-law has a pear orchard? Well, you can them! I made some pear relish and pear preserves. Next I'm making pear butter. The worse part of making all this is the peeling. But, it's still fun to do. If you've never canned anything, why not start? It's a great feeling. I just bought a new book called, "The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving". I'm anxious to try some new and different stuff.

Here's all you need: pears, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, sweet onions, apple cider vinegar and pickling spice. Oops, forgot the apple cider vinegar for the picture.






Chop the pears, onions, and peppers.








Place two teaspoons of pickling spice in cheesecloth to make a bouquet garnish. I tie mine with a pretty long string so it makes it easier to remove.







Put all in a pot and bring to a boil, while stirring often.






When it turns a pretty golden color and the pears, peppers and onions are tender, then it's ready to process. Remove the bouquet garnish.








Be sure you use hot jars and be sure to also put the tongs in the hot water.







I use a canning funnel to put the relish in the jars. Be sure you wipe the rim clean with a clean damp cloth before putting the lid on. Screw the rims on just finger tight and place back in water. Make sure the water is about an inch over the jars. Bring water to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Using a jar lifter, remove the jars from the water. After a few minutes, you'll start hearing little pings. This is a good sound, it means you did the canning properly.

Here's the pear relish along with some pear preserves I made.

Pear Relish

10 pears, peeled and chopped
2 medium sweet onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pickling spices

Place all ingredients in a large pot and bring mixture to a boil, stirring often. Lower the temperature to a medium heat and cook approximately 40 minutes or until the pears, peppers and onions are soft in texture.

Heat jars in water for about ten minutes. Put relish in hot jars and process for ten minutes in a water bath.

Pear relish can be served warm or cold. Pear relish makes a great dipping sauce for oriental foods. Mix pear relish in barbecue sauce for a great sauce. Relish is good on hot dogs, barbecue, pork and chicken.