by Texas Homesteader ~
Check out my simple Pear Relish recipe. Sweet & savory come together beautifully! I’ve even included optional water-bath canning instructions.
(Note: Some links in this post will take you to other related articles for further information. But links preceded with * are affiliate links. If you click and buy something I could receive a tiny commission.)
I’ve heard that pear relish is delicious but… I dunno. I mean sweet pears coupled with savory onions & bell peppers? And jalapenos? And MUSTARD? Hummmmm, I don’t know…
Sweet & Savory Tastes Combine For Pear Relish
I’ve never been a fan of sweet & savory tastes together. But RancherMan asked me to get the recipe from a friend. So I did.
I made a small batch just to check it out. After sampling the results we found it delicious! Then RancherMan asked me to make it again, this time a full batch #ifyouplease! This pear relish is surprisingly delicious.
What To Do With An Abundant Pear Harvest
A neighbor invited me to harvest from their huge pear tree. RancherMan & I loaded up about 75 lbs – just from what we could reach from the ground!
There are many things I’m anxious to do with these fresh pears!
But with this many pears I’m able to try new recipes too.
Asking A Friend About Pear Relish Ingredients
I was speaking with a friend & I mentioned the pear relish & its odd ingredients. Pears and onions? And MUSTARD?
But her eyes sparkled. “Oh I love pear relish” she exclaimed.
So I figured I’d move ahead with this recipe.
What Are Pear Relish Ingredients?
Pear relish has pretty simple ingredients:
Fresh Pears
Onions
Red & Green Bell Peppers
White Vinegar
Prepared Mustard
Sugar
Fresh Jalapenos
Let’s get started making pear relish!
How To Peel, Chop & Grate Lots Of Fresh Vegetables At One Time
RancherMan & I used our *apple peeler/corer to quickly peel the pears. It’ll peel a pear in seconds. So it made fast work out of peeling all of those pears.
Then into my grandmother’s vintage food chopper I added:
Peeled, Quartered and Cored Pears
Seeded & Quartered Bell Peppers
Peeled & quartered Onion
I love grandma’s food chopper. This bad boy has been helping to feed families for decades! I still feel my grandmother’s presence when I’m using her kitchen tools. (contented smile)
With a few cranks of the handle we ground it all together and the grated veggies went right into a large stock pot.
How To Cook Fresh Pear Relish
Into the grated vegetables I stirred in
Sugar
Vinegar
Mustard
Then I put the pot on the stove to simmer. (Be sure to stir frequently to avoid ingredients sticking to the bottom of the pan.)
I simmered the relish for 20 minutes. It reduced quite a bit and the liquid became syrupy.
We decided to preserve the relish in ½ pint jars. That way we could enjoy this pear relish deliciousness all year long.
How To Water-Bath Can Pear Relish
I had already sanitized ½ -pint jars by washing them. When water-bath canning I often place the clean jars in my canner rack and let them heat up with the water.
This step also assures the jars are good & hot to receive the hot ingredients.
You remember in science class what happens when hot substances get poured into cool glass jars? Yeah, I didn’t want that to happen! LOL
I water-bath canned my jars of pear relish for 20 minutes. Your processing time may be different depending upon your altitude.
Since there are variables to canning such as altitude and equipment, for your specific circumstances be sure to consult your canner’s manual and also make sure you read and understand the USDA’s recommendations on safe canning and follow their directions closely – food safety is important!
Can You Just Turn Jars Upside Down To Seal?
The friend’s recipe instructions said to just put the lids & rings on the hot filled jars & turn the jars upside down, leave them for about 10 minutes and then turn them right-side up again. That was supposed to seal the jars.
Although that’s fine for refrigerator storage, it’s no longer a recommended way to safely seal canning jars to be shelf stable.
How To Use Pear Relish In Savory Dishes?
Here’s how we use this fresh pear relish:
A dollop on top of black-eyed peas or beans
An ingredient in homemade Thousand Island Salad Dressing.
Relish for homemade Egg Salad Sandwich Spread
Ingredient For Deviled Eggs
Topping on hot dogs
Anywhere regular pickle relish would be used
Below is the recipe in a smaller quantity so you can give it a try. But I’ve included the full batch recipe below as well.
Trust me – go for the full batch! LOL.
Homemade Sweet/Savory Pear Relish Recipes
(Smaller batch recipe first, larger batch below that one)
SMALL BATCH PEAR RELISH RECIPE – (4) 1/2-Pint Jars
Pear Relish Recipe - Smaller FOUR 1/2 Pint Jar Batch
Here's the recipe as I made it, but I've included the full batch recipe in this post as well. Trust me - go for the full batch! LOL. ~TxH~
Ingredients
- 6 large pears
- 3 large onions
- 3 large bell peppers red & green
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup yellow mustard
- 3 cups sugar
- Chopped Jalapenos to taste I used 2 chopped
Instructions
-
Peel and quarter pears, seed peppers, peel onions.
-
Grate pears, peppers, onions and jalapenos with a food chopper. (Or pulse in food processor but careful to pulse just long enough to shred ingredients. Don't puree the vegetables unless that's the texture you're after)
-
Place all ingredients into large stock pot and bring to boil. (Stir often, it will stick to bottom of pot.) Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until reduced & thick.
-
To water-bath can: Ladle into hot sterilized ½ pint canning jars, screw on canning lids and water-bath can for 20 minutes)
FULL BATCH PEAR RELISH RECIPE – (8) 1/2-Pint Jars
Larger Pear Preserves Recipe - Larger EIGHT 1/2 Pint Jar Batch
This larger batch of pear preserves makes eight ½-pint jars. Go ahead, make the larger batch! #TexasHomesteader
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 12 large Pears
- 6 large Onions
- 6 large bell peppers 3 red, 3 green
- 2 cups yellow mustard
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 6 cups sugar
- Jalapenos to taste maybe 6-10, depending on how hot you like it
Instructions
Instructions
-
Peel and quarter pears, seed peppers, peel onions. Grind pears, peppers, onions and jalapenos with a food chopper. (can use a food processor but be careful not to puree your ingredients unless that's the texture you're after)
-
Place all ingredients into large stock pot and bring to boil. (Stir often, it will stick to bottom of pot.)
-
Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until reduced & thick.
Recipe Notes
Optional Water-Bath Canning: Ladle into sterilized 1/2 pint canning jars, screw on canning lids and water-bath can for 20 minutes.
~TxH~
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- Pear Sauce (like applesauce but with pears)
- Pears Canned In Vanilla Syrup
- Sweet-n-Savory Pear Relish
- Pear Cake
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My grandmother in NC always had 15-20 qt jars of this around. Lovely stuff. She used a particular type of pear however, I cannot think of the name. It was inedible except in this recipe. Any idea or will Bosc work? Is it better if the pears are not quite ripe?
I don’t yet grow my own pears Robert, so I make this pear relish with whatever pears friends share with me. But they don’t always know the type of pear on their tree. Even using different kinds of pears, this relish always comes out great. ~TxH~
Can you make this in a crockpot?
I’ve never made it in a crockpot before, simmering the pear relish a pot works best for me. If you decide to give it a go let us know how it comes out. ~TxH~
I was looking for a quick Pear recipe.. as my pear tree runneth over.. just finished putting in jars. I guess it’s about time I buy a food processor vs using my blender as it was more on the pureed consistency; it is delicious. I’m sure it will be a great topper on just about anything. Thanks for sharing.
Diana from Deep in the Heart of Texas
Well I’m glad you enjoy it as much as we do Diana. I was pretty skeptical, but by golly it’s delicious! I’m jealous of your pear tree, ours died from some mystery illness the year before it was set to give me my very first harvest. I planted another last year to replace it but it’ll be several years before it’s mature enough to offer pears. I can’t wait! ~TxH~
This recipe is amazing! I would just recommend more instructions on it… after putting my veggies in the food compressor (I left them in for too long) and I got puree.. So I would recommend only a few seconds. Also, I found that if you use ripe pear you really dont need to put them in the food compressor. Just heat them up first in the sugar (which I put 1 1/2 cups instead of 2 cause I thought it was a lot and I was very pleased with the result- might even be still a bit too sweet for my liking), so I would’ve put the instructions as this;
1. Peel skin off the pears, cut in big chunks and heat ripe pear and sugar together first in a large pot,
2.Process the veggies for a few seconds together (not too long so you don’t end up with a puree) then add the blended veggs and the mustard to the pear and sugar, increase the heat.
3. Slowly add vinegar ( I used apple cider vinegar cause it’s more healthy)
leave on a heavier rather then lighter simmer for 20 min.
Other then that I LOVE the jalapenos and the sweetness, I think this recipe has an amazing balance of spice and I just love that. Going to give some jars away for Christmas 😉
Good point Aririe – I didn’t use a food processor, I used my grandmother’s vintage food chopper. But the recipe given to me did indicate she used a food processor so I’ll note on the recipe to pulse just for a few seconds. Thanks for your tips, and I’m so glad you loved it as much as we do! Merry Christmas to you & yours. ~TxH~
Wow this is GREAT!!! Had picked a few too many pears and needed an extra recipe… .so glad we tried this one!
Love this recipe. It is delicious. I made the whole batch and plan on saving this recipe Thank you for Sharing.
I grew up eating pear relish much like your recipe. Any time we had roast the pear relish was on the table. Grandmother’s recipe begins with 1gallon peeled ground pears. You recipe is a bit more reasonable amounts. Her recipe does not have prepared mustard but it has mustard seed, celery seed and turmeric. Thanks for sharing.
Omgosh, I love pears but I’ve never thought about putting them in a relish like this. Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your recipe with us at Merry Monday this week!
Wanted to share that I was able to sample this relish at a recent family gathering and LOVED it!! Even if not a big mustard lover it adds a great finish. We sampled it on crackers but then brought it out for the hamburgers and hot dogs. Thanks for sharing.
8N Acres
Interesting combination of sweet and savory. I’ve cooked pears, apples, prunes as a winter side – great cold or warm. My initial reaction is similar to yours. Pinned and shared
Awesome Carol, thanks for the pin. I’ll be whipping up more of this relish in the coming days, RancherMan loves it! ~TxH~
I think I’d love this relish, because I am a fan of sweet and savoury!! It sounds really different but I’d love to try this and then dip some nachos in it, mmmh, I bet it’s awesome! Thanks for this great recipe! I’ll pin this for sure!
Sounds weird but going to give it a try. ( I trust your judgment ) Will try anything once. I figure if hubby and myself don’t like it, I have family members who will eat just about anything; even Hot Candied Jalapenos :}. Thanks for the recipe as well as the well written instructions along with your honest opinion on taste.
Have an enjoyable weekend
Forgot to ask: You are talking about the yellow mustard (French’s) and Not the dry, ground mustard right?
I kinda figured it required the yellow mustard but thought I would ask in case someone was too shy to ask :}
Now, all I need is the pears, onions and bell peppers, Oh and of course the mustard :}
Vinegar and sugar I always have on hand. I normally buy my sugar in the 25lb bags