Blog, Booze Recipes, Canning & Preserving, Recipe Box, Sweet Stuff Recipes
Pear Cordial: DIY Delicious Booze!
Amber Shehan • November 2, 2016
Turn fresh, ripe pears into a liqueur with the magic of sugar, booze, and time. It's just that easy!
Earlier this fall, a dear friend of mine became a homeowner. Her new bit o’earth is a lovely place – it boasts an old flower garden, a bountiful floor of lemon balm, and three grand pear trees! As she was in the middle of renovations and moving in, most of the pears were going to waste and to wasps as they fell on the ground.
I begged the assistance of the 11-year old who was hanging out with me, and together we gleaned three or four plastic bags full of ripe pears!
Because I am a boozy pixie, the very first thing that I made with those pears was a lovely cordial. My resident taste-tester promises that this is the best cordial that I’ve made yet! Well. Isn’t that sweet?
Pear Cordial Recipe
Pear + Booze + Sugar = Heaven! Turn fresh pears into a tasty tipple that will keep you delighted all year long.
Ingredients
- Pears
- Sugar
- Vodka (or brandy, or whiskey, or whatever booze you prefer!)
Instructions
First, chop the pears. I left the skin on mine, as it gives a nice little bit of bitterness and lends itself to a fuller flavored cordial. Set aside the cores and discarded parts to make scrap vinegar.
Jar the pears. Add a handful of chopped pears to a large mason jar. Cover that with a teaspoon of sugar. Add more pears and sugar. Repeat these layers until the jar is full. Or two jars. However much you want to make is entirely up to you!
Put a lid on the jars and let them sit for a while, about 30 minutes to an hour. The sugar pulls the juice out of the fruit, and the overall effect on the richness of the cordial’s flavor is worth the extra wait.
Check the juice levels in the jars. Look at the jar and see how much juice is in it. If it is more than a quarter full of juice, pour some off. If there is too much sweet pear juice in the jar, it has a chance of fermenting in the jar. That can make a fizzy liqueur at best or an exploding jar at worst!
Fill the jars with your booze of choice. Fill the rest of the jar with your alcohol. I prefer using a decent quality vodka so that the main flavor is that of the fruit, not the alcohol. Label your jars with the contents and date and stash it in a dark, cool place. I started the cordials in mid-August and strained them in the second week of October.
Strain the cordial. Shake the jar up before you strain the cordial to make sure all of the sugar has dissolved completely. Use muslin, cheesecloth, or a mesh strainer to keep out the pear chunks.
Bottle your cordial. Put your tasty cordial in clean, sanitized bottles or jars. I tend to use old booze bottles for mine and save the cute jars or bottles for gifts.
Label them well, and give them as gifts (or hoard them like you know you want to, you booze dragon, you!). A lovely bottle of this cordial was given as a housewarming gift to my dear friend who told me that I can return every year to glean as many pears as I wish!
Get updates from Pixie's Pocket: brewing and herbs in your inbox:
Posted In Blog, Booze Recipes, Canning & Preserving, Recipe Box, Sweet Stuff Recipes
Amber Shehan
Hi! I'm Amber Pixie, and this is my site. Enjoy the recipes, information, posts, and please feel free to message me if you have questions!
Ooh this looks lovely. I’ve been trying for the last few years to make pear wine and have been rather unsuccessful with the flavor. I think I will be trying this from now on! I have had a good lime cordial using this method but never thought to use pears or apples!
Thank you for sharing 🙂
Pear is so picky. Have you tried making the wine, and then racking the finished wine over onto some freshly chopped or grated pears to re-infuse it with fruit flavor? It’s a technique I’ve done with strawberries, and it really made the flavor come through!
If you want a treat, use rum or brandy with apples or pears. The brown liqueurs do well with those. Have fun with it! 😀
Question? How long will the pear liquor last? I’m about to try the recipe but would like to give as a gift at Christmas….will it still be good? Does it get stronger with age? Never done anything like this before.
I’m so sorry for the delay in response! I hope you went ahead and tried this – it should be just fine by Christmas! Just make sure you strain it into the gift jars or bottles and seal them well, then store them in a dark, cool place until the holidays. Enjoy!
Hi Amber,
I hadn’t tried racking onto fresh fruit but I will give it ago next time!
This recipe sounds delightful. I will be trying it for sure.
Hi Amber I’m getting ready to give this a whirl but was wondering if you’ve ever include herbs like lemon thyme or mint with your cordial. What are your thoughts on this idea? Cheers!
Oh, man, that sounds fantastic! I think lemon thyme would be a great addition with a few sprigs added in. I’ve tried it with cinnamon and anise, which is nice, too. Have fun experimenting and keep me posted!
Hi Amber,
For this recipe do you remove the fruit and leave only 1/4 of the juice then add the vodka?
We moved onto this property 2 years ago. Last year not much produced. But this year the dwarf pear is about 20 ft and producing fruit weighing over 1 lb. Lots of pear sauce and halves. My husband and I have been peeling (sometimes) coring and slicing for weeks😉😀. This weekend we also made the scrap vinegar and pear cordial. Chickens, hogs, deer and compost get the leftovers!
The pear version I made a few years ago turned out great. So now I’m using the last of my fuyu persimmons, brandy and a cinnamon stick. We’ll see in a couple months how it turns out. Thanks, Amber!
★