Pearsins or Something Like That
All those pears we picked at my mom’s house are finally getting made into pearsauce, pear butter and my personal favorite, pearsins. What are pearsins you ask? Well, dried pears of course.
This is one of the easiest ways to process pears. Simple wash, cut in half, core and then cut in half again and place skin side down on a rack in the oven. Set oven to 170 and dry until they’re leathery and dry, but not crispy. I sometimes dry them for 3-5 hours then turn off the oven for a few hours, and keep doing that until they’re finished. Periodically check them and remove the ones that are dry and store in a cool dry place.
What kinds of fruits do you like dried?
Picking Pears
We picked pears at my mom’s house again last week. We didn’t get as many as we did last year (remember that?). There were a lot of pears on the ground, but we still had a good haul.
I gave some to my sister and we brought the rest home. Last year I canned pear halves, but that’s a lot of work. Since we still have some left, I’ll stick to easier preservation methods like: making pear sauce (like applesauce), pear butter and drying.
What’s your favorite way to preserve pears?
Filed under Edible, Fruit, harvest | Comments (20)Freezing Wild Black Raspberries
My mom has a nice area in her back yard where a lot of wild black raspberries grow. She’s had a bumper crop this year, so she invited me over to pick the extra berries she didn’t want.
I went over several days last week and one day this week and I spent about an hour each time. So far I’ve been able to pick 10.5 pounds of wild black raspberries for our freezer! I’m heading over again today so I should be able to add another 2-3 pounds to that total. That means I won’t have to go to the local blueberry farm to buy blueberries this year since I have so many raspberries.
I freeze the berries on a cookie sheet so that they don’t freeze together in the bags. When they’re frozen, I scoop them up and put them in a freezer bag.
This way I can easily measure out what I need for a recipe from the bags and I don’t have to pre-measure into smaller freezer bags. I prefer freezing my berries and dealing with them later when I have more time and when the weather’s cooler outside.
I’m looking forward to making some jam this winter and perhaps some cobbler or some black raspberry scones.
How do you preserve berries for those long winter months?
Filed under Berries, Edible, Freezing, Fruit, Harvest Keepers Challenge | Comments (19)Picking Strawberries
Our strawberries are ripe! They’re such a delayed gratification crop since you plant them one year and don’t start harvesting till the next. Last year I planted them and dutifully pinched off the blossoms in order for a larger harvest this year.
My efforts were rewarded because our strawberries are producing like crazy. We’ve been out picking them every evening.
We picked our first berries last Thursday, there were only a few ripe then. It seems like they’re kicking into full gear now, we have to go out and pick every night to keep up with them (we’ve picked 4.5 pounds since last Thurs). The chipmunks and slugs are getting a few, but the Chiots loves it because she gets the ones they start on.
I’m glad I planted 3 different kinds; early, mid and late maturing ones to extend our harvest. We’ve already enjoyed our berries in some strawberry rhubarb crisp, strawberry rhubarb syrup over waffles and of course we’ve eaten a lot as is. You just can’t beat berries ripe from the garden.
Do you grow strawberries in your garden?
Filed under Edible, Fruit | Comments (19)It’s Apple Season
Mr Chiot’s loves this time of year because apples are one of his favorite dessert fruit. He’s always begging me to make apple pie or apple cake. I have made Mom’s Apple Cake from SmittenKitchen several times and boy is it good!
I’ve been buying up a few pecks of apples each week at the farmer’s market and saving them for apple butter. Apple butter is so much better when you use several different kinds of apples. I’ve made up several batches so far and I have a few more to go. It makes a great gift for family and friends. I have this fabulous recipe for Apple Butter that you make in a crock pot overnight. (I add a few extra ingredients: double the cinnamon, add 1 teaspoon of ginger, and add 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar).
Is anyone else enjoying the bounty of apple season? Any great apple recipes to share?
Filed under Fruit | Comment (0)
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