Apple-Pear Pie in a Jar
My friend Shirley called to say her pear tree is laden with fruit that will likely go to waste. If I can use them, I can come get them. I was planning to make pear and raisin pie with the Bartlets from Liz, and a few jars of pear-apple sauce and pear-apple pie filling with these bosc’s. They won’t be ripe for a week or two so I am not overloaded trying to do it all in one weekend, which is important for Steve.
I was really happy with the apple pie filling from last year and found a post on line that said you can use substitute (or mix an match) any apple pie filling recipe. She pops it in a pan with a crumb topping.
Buying guide is 3 pears: 1lb: 2¼ cups, cored and sliced; 3 apples: 1lb: 3 cups, cored and sliced or diced
This recipe is for a single quart (multiply as needed). I you have wide mouth jars, they are a bit easier to work with:
- 3½ cups mixed fruit (ratio to taste), washed
- ¾ cup brown sugar, not packed
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 tsp pie spice (OR 1 tsp cinnamon and ¼ tsp each: nutmeg, ginger, cloves and all spice)
- 1-2 cup water
- 2 Tbs lemon juice (bottled is suitable)
- Peel, core and slice apples to ¼” thick. Store in cold water with lemon juice to prevent browning while you are cutting them up. Repeat with pears, keeping them separate.
- Place sliced apples in a large pot of boiling water, bring back to a boil and cook 1 minute more. This will stop the enzymes that can cause the flavor to degrade during storage. Drain and keep the hot cooked fruit in a covered bowl or pot. Reserve 1¼ cup liquid.
- Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a large pot with the apple water. You can reduce the amount of sugar by up to half or substitute honey (about 3/4 cup of honey to replace each cup of sugar). Over medium high heat, stir constantly until the mixture begins to bubble.
- Combine cornstarch with lemon juice (add liquid to dry) to make magic mud. Add to pot and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly, until it starts to thicken. Remove from the heat.
- Using the funnel, add syrup to bottom of the sterilized quart jars, pack jar in layers: raw pear slices, cooked apple and top with syrup. After each layer, tamp down the slices with a spoon to fill any air spaces. The jar should be tightly packed so the slices aren’t floating in liquid. Continue until you have 1″ headspace.
- Check for air bubbles and adjust the headspace. Wipe any spilled apple pie filling from the rim before adding the lids. Process in a water bath for 20 min OR pressure cook for 10 min at 10lb of pressure.
Cooking directions:
To make apple-pear pie crisp, pour a one quart jar into a 8×8 pan or pie plate. Mix together the crumble topping (see below) and spread over fruit evenly. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until the filling starts to bubble. Serve warm or cold with or without vanilla ice cream.
Crisp Topping:
- 1 cup oats, whole or quick oats
- ½ cup brown sugar, not packed
- 1/3 cup flour
- ½ tsp pie spice or cinnamon
Stir together with a fork and spread onto top of pears. Dot with margarine or butter.
