Pear compote is a speci alty that goes very well with sweet dishes such as pancakes or rice pudding. If you like baking, you can use it as a base for delicious cakes. Since the compote lasts for a long time when preserved, you can preserve the taste of summer and revel in the most beautiful aromas in winter.
How can you make pear compote?
To make pear compote, prepare the pears and cook them with sugar, spices and water to make a compote. Pour the hot compote into sterilized jars, seal them and warm them in a water bath or oven to create a vacuum and extend shelf life.
What is boiling down?
When preserving, the pears are filled into a sterile jar with a screw lid and heated in a water bath in a preserving pot or oven. The heating causes the air and water vapor in the glass to expand, creating excess pressure. When it cools down, the air and steam contract again and a vacuum is created. In this way, preserved fruit can be preserved for at least a year.
What resources are needed?
- Mason jars: These can have a twist-off closure, a glass lid with a rubber ring and metal clip, or a snap closure with a rubber ring.
- A pot with a cooking thermometer.
Alternatively, you can cook the pear compote in the oven. For this you need a large roasting pan.
Ingredients for boiled pear compote in a screw-top jar
- 1 kg pears
- 750 ml water
- 250 g sugar
- 1 – 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 cloves
- 1 sachet of vanilla sugar
- a little grated lemon peel or juice from a lemon
Preparation
- Rinse the jars and lids and then sterilize them in boiling water for 10 minutes.
- Take everything out of the pot with a slotted spoon and place it on a tea towel with the opening facing down.
- Wash and peel the pears thoroughly.
- Cut the fruits into quarters and cut out the core, stem and flower.
- Pour water into a saucepan. Add sugar, spices and fruit.
- Simmer gently for 10 – 15 minutes until the pears are soft.
- Pour hot into the jars and fill with the cooking water.
- Close the lid and turn it upside down for 20 minutes.
- Due to the negative pressure, the lid must be slightly curved inwards after cooling.
Cooking pear compote in a mason jar
Alternatively, you can cook the pear compote directly in the glass and preserve it at the same time. For this you need glasses with a rubber ring and metal bracket or with a rubber ring and bracket closure.
- Boil the water with the sugar and spices and wait until the crystals have completely dissolved.
- Put the uncooked, peeled and sliced pears in the mason jar. There should be about two centimeters of space at the top.
- Add half or a whole cinnamon stick cooked in the syrup. Fill the glasses with the hot sugar water.
- Close the preserving jar with the lid and ring and secure it with clips.
- Cook the pears in the preserving pot at 80 degrees for about 30 minutes.
- Take out the glasses, cover with a tea towel and let cool.
Alternatively, you can place the glasses in a roasting pan. Fill this with water so that the glasses are two-thirds covered. Put everything in the oven and bake at 180 degrees for about half an hour.
Tip
The preserved pear compote should always be stored in a cool and dark place. If the glass lid no longer fits tightly after a while or the screw lid no longer cracks when opened, fermentation gases have formed inside and the contents unfortunately have to be disposed of. The cause can be a lack of cleanliness or a soaking time that is too short at a temperature that is too low.
