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Home » Homemade Pickles » Sweet And Sour Spiced Pickled Pears

Sweet And Sour Spiced Pickled Pears

Author: Karon Grieve Published : November 2020

Recipe
sweet and sour pickled pears
sweet and sour spiced pickled pears pin image

These amazing sweet and sour spiced pickled pears are the perfect addition to any cheeseboard. The juiciness of the pears with the kick of warming spices makes them dance delightfully with turkey and game too.

sweet and sour spiced pickled pears in jar with pear on plate in front

I love having lots of extra foodie things at Christmas. Pickles and chutneys are great for adding a bit of interest to any dish, especially those leftovers at Christmas time.

Nothing beats brightening up a plate of cold cuts or a cheeseboard with a good pickle.

These spiced pickled pears work brilliantly both with the main meal (especially turkey) and for livening up those leftovers too.

two pears on table

Types of pears

Conference Pears area long thin conical shape. They are yellow with spotty russet markings. The flesh is grainy, sweet and juicy and they are good for eating and cooking.

Comice Pears are rounder in shape and have a juicy tender flesh. Another good one for cooking and eating. Really good with cheese!

Concorde Pears are a cross between Comice and Conference varieties.

Red William Pear has a speckled, bright red skin, and soft, sweet flesh.

Rocha Pears are from Portugal, have a firmer flesh and are juicy and sweet.

Williams Bon Chrétien (aka Willliams Pears) are tender and juicy, and good for cooking and eating.

Whatever pear you choose make sure that they are quite small as you want to get a few in your jar.

table shot of paers in jar and also on plate

Ingredients for these spiced pickled pears

Pears, the type of pear is up to you but you do want nice firm pears that are quite small in size for this pickling recipe.

Lemon for it’s gorgeously mouth puckering zinginess.

Raspberry vinegar, you can buy this in the shops and also make your own with my homemade raspberry vinegar recipe. If you don’t have raspberry vinegar use red wine vinegar instead.

The spice mix

This is the important element to your spiced pickled pears and it’s totally simple.

Cinnamon, allspice berries and cloves.

The only other ingredient in these pickled pears is water.

The complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this recipe can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

spiced pickled pears in bowl with jar behind

How to make spiced pickled pears

Peel the zest from the lemon avoiding the bitter white pith. Now squeeze out all that gorgeous juice into a pan.

Add the sugar, vinegar, water and all the spices and once the sugar has completely dissolved raise the heat and bring this pickling syrup to a boil.

Peel the pears, half them lengthways and remove the core. You can leave the stalks on as this looks rather pretty when you’re serving your pickled pears.

Pop the pears into the hot pickling liquid and simmer for about 20 minutes till the pears are tender enough for a skewer to pierce.

Pack the pickled pears into a sterilised jar (I got one big jar of spiced pickled pears from this recipe).

Bring the pickling liquib back up to the boil and let it boil for 5 minutes then pour over the pears in their jar.

Pop on the lid and set aside for 2-3 weeks to let that pickling magic happen.

New to preserving? Then don’t panic, I can take you from zero to hero in no time at all.

Just check out these handy articles to get you heading in the right direction fast;

How to make great jam and marmalade

How to make cool curds

How to make great jelly

How to make chutney and relish

How to sterilise jars and bottles

Sticky situations – troubleshooting your preserves

Different types of preserves

My favourite preserving kit

Pro tips

Lemons

Keep lemons in the fridge and always remove take them out half an hour before using so they are at room temperatre. Roll the lemon on your work surface a few times to break down the fibres inside and release the juice.

If you do not have an unwaxed lemon do this to remove the wax coating that supermarket lemons have;

Give the lemon a jolly good scrub with soap and warm water to remove the wax coating and rinse thoroughly and then pat dry. Voila! You now have an unwaxed lemon.

Vinegar

You can use white wine vinegar for this recipe too but you won’t get that lovely rich pink colour on your pickled pears. They will still taste amazing though.

close up of half of pickled pear on plate

How long do pickled pears keep

Unopened these pickled pears will keep in a cool dark place for up to six months. Once opened store in the fridge and use within a month.

How to serve these sweet and sour spiced pickled pears

These pickled pears are wonderful served simply as part of a platter with cheeses and pate.

They work really well with turkey and game just added to the side of your plate. The juicy sweetness of the spiced pear with that sweet and sour pickling syrup really brings out the best in the meat.

Serve a couple of pickled pears with a slice of gorgeous game pie.

Chop the sweet and sour pickled pears up finely and serve like a chutney on a turkey sandwich or with a good old fashioned cheese toastie!

This recipe makes a great foodie gift, so why not check out my post on how to make Christmas hampers.

larder links

Looking for more fun foodie ideas for the festive season? Then check these out before you go

Sweet and sour pickled apricots

Last minute Christmas cake

Homemade vegan mincemeat

Cranberry and apricot relish

Homemade Baileys Irish cream liqueur

Super easy mincepies with fun fillings

Figgy pudding fruit paste for the cheeseboard

Spiced cranberry and orange marmalade

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.

Photos And Tips AboveMost of my recipes have step by step photos and useful tips plus videos too, see above.
sweet and sour spiced pickled pears in jar

Sweet And Sour Spiced Pickled Pears

Karon Grieve
These pickled pears make a great addition to your cheeseboard, go really well with turkey and game and on a cheese toastie too
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Comment Bookmark Saved! Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Course pickles
Cuisine British
Servings 1 large jar
Calories 1231 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1/2 lemon juice and zest
  • 225 g sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick small
  • 4 cloves
  • 4 allspice berries
  • 75 ml water
  • 225 ml raspberry vinegar or red wine vinegar
  • 500 g pears firm pears
Metric – US Customary

Instructions
 

  • Peel zest from half the lemon and squeeze out the juice
  • Add this to a pan wth all other ingredients (apart from the pears) and heat gently to dissolve sugar then raise temperature and boil.
  • Peel the pears and half lengthways leaving on the stalk but removing the core
  • Add pears to the boiling pickling liquid then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes till pears tender enough for a skewer to be insterted easily
  • Pack pears into a big sterilised jar
  • Raise temperature and boil pickling liquid for 5 minutes then pour over the pears and pop on the lid
  • Set aside for 2-3 weeks to mature then serve

Notes

These sweet and sour pickled pears will keep for up to 6 months unopened. Once opened store in fridge and use within a month.
Serve with cheese, pate, with turkey and game or chopped like a chutney for sandwiches etc.

Nutrition

Calories: 1231kcalCarbohydrates: 312gProtein: 3gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 26mgPotassium: 851mgFiber: 19gSugar: 276gVitamin A: 151IUVitamin C: 50mgCalcium: 122mgIron: 2mg
My Top Tips*Always read the full recipe first. *Assemble all your ingredients and everything you need before you start. *For baking check the size of tins I’m using as this makes a big difference to your cakes. * I use medium sized eggs unless otherwise stated. * I use extra virgin olive oil unless otherwise stated. * I use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated. * Check out My Preserving Kit!
Keyword pears
Tried this recipe?Mention @LarderLove or tag #LarderLove

Filed Under: ALL RECIPES, Autumn/Fall, Christmas, Homemade Pickles

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Comments

  1. Olivia says

    August 30, 2021 at 4:56 am

    Do these need to be canned or is this an on the counter kind of pickle ferment?

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      August 30, 2021 at 9:09 am

      Hi Olivia
      I don’t usually do canning as it isn’t something we normally do here in UK. So this is just a normal pickle and sits in a cupboard.
      K

      Reply
  2. Teresa says

    February 11, 2022 at 2:35 am

    Where’s the recipe?

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      February 11, 2022 at 12:20 pm

      Hi Teresa,
      I’m a bit confused by your comment as the recipe is clearly at bottom of blog post on the printable recipe card.
      K

      Reply

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