Canned Pear-Apple Mincemeat

Lookit I got! Brother’s wife’s sister’s husband’s parents’ pears!

I am planning pear-lemon preserves, canned meatless mincemeat, and perhaps pear butter or pickled pears. Too much?

Not enough, I say. Bring on the paring knife, rustle up the Big Bowls, boil those jars, crack open the new box of rings, rosin up the cutting board . . . it’s Pear Time.

First: Pear-Apple Mincemeat (the meatless kind)

15 large pears, peeled and ground (about 7 pounds)
12 apples, peeled and chopped (about 4 1/2 pounds)
2 3/4 cups raisins
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 unpeeled orange, seeded and ground
1/2 cup vinegar (5 %) acidity)
1 T. salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Combine all ingredients in a large Dutch oven’ bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Spoon hot mixture into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Remove air bubbles, wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw on bands. Process in boiling water bath 25 minutes. Yield: 8 pints.

To make Pear-Apple Mincemeat Pie:
Pastry for double-crust pie
4 1/2 cups Pear Apple Mincemeat
1/4 cup sugar
2 T. butter or margarine
Roll half of pastry to 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Place in a 9-inch pieplate: set aside.
Combine mincemeat and sugar in a heavy saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Spoon mincemeat mixture into prepared pastry shell; dot top of mincemeat with butter.
Roll remaining pastry to 1/8 inch thickness; transfer to top of pie. Trim off excess pastry along edges. Fold edges under and flute. Cut slits in top crust for steam to escape. Cover edges of pastry with strips of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, removing foil last 15 minutes of baking. Yield: one 9-inch pie.
recipe from The Southern Living Cookbook

P.S. I put a scootch more head space in my jars than 1/4 in. I also let it simmer a bit more before canning than just bringing it to a boil. And, 4 1/2 cups mincemeat per pie? Do they think I’m going to open a whole ‘nother jar just to take out 1/2 cup? Please! Chop up a fresh apple if you have to, or just use 4 cups. Otherwise, this recipe has a very good mincemeat flavor. The orange is delicious and the spice blend is spot on.

Oh, and this recipe made almost 6 QUARTS for me, not the 8 pints it promised. Possibly because I weighed my pears after I pared them. The recipe didn’t specify. Taste-wise it turned out great, though, so I don’t know what to tell you. In this case, more is better as far as I’m concerned.

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Tagged as: baking, dessert, home preserving