MINTED PEARS
These refreshing pears make a lovely light dessert. Serve unadorned or topped with a little whipped cream, vanilla yogurt, or a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.
These refreshing pears make a lovely light dessert. Serve unadorned or topped with a little whipped cream, vanilla yogurt, or a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.
PREP: 45 MINUTES COOK: 5 MINUTES PROCESS: 20 MINUTES MAKES: 7 PINTS
1. In a small saucepan mash the mint leaves with the back of a spoon. Stir in the 1 cup water; heat to boiling. Remove from heat; let stand for 10 minutes. Strain liquid through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on leaves with the back of a spoon; discard leaves. Set mint-flavored water aside.
2. For syrup, in a 4- to 6-quart pot combine the 5⅔ cups water and sugar. Cook and stir until sugar dissolves. Add the mint-flavored water. Keep syrup hot, but do not boil.
3. Wash, peel, core, and halve or quarter pears; place pear halves or quarters in ascorbic acid color keeper solution as they are peeled and cut. Drain pears; add to syrup. Heat to boiling. Cover and boil gently for 5 minutes.
4. Using a slotted spoon, pack hot pears into hot sterilized pint canning jars, leaving a ½-inch headspace. Cover with the hot syrup, maintaining the ½-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands.
5. Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner for 20 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling). Remove jars from canner; cool on wire racks.
PER 2 PEAR HALVES: 163 cal., 1 g fat (0 g sat. fat), 0 mg chol., 3 mg sodium, 42 g carb., 4 g fiber, 1 g pro.
Pears are so pretty halved or quartered and packed into jars. To get pears ready for canning, peel with a vegetable peeler and use a melon baller to neatly scoop out the core and seeds.