Here is what I have saved - many come from others postings from this forum-
Ginger-Pear Preserves
6 cups cubed ripe Bosc or Bartlett pears (about 1 3/4 pounds)
3/4 cup chopped seeded lemon (1 large)
1/4 cup pera-flavored liqueur
1 to 2 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger
4 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large saucepan. Stir in sugar and water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 12 hours (do not refrigerate).
2. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour and 15 minutes or until thick, stirring occassionally. Place 1 cup preserves into each of 4 sterilized 8-oz. jars

Honey Pear Jam
2 lg Firm-ripe pears; cored and diced
1/2 c ;water
1/4 c Lemon juice
1/4 c Pear eau-de-vie
1/4 ts Cinnamon
1/4 ts Clove powder
1/4 ts Nutmeg
1/2 c Honey
1 pinch Salt
Combine all ingredients except honey and salt in a saucepan. Cook 5 min over high heat, stirring. Reduce heat to medium and cook 25 min, stirring occasionally. Add honey and salt. Cook 15 min, stirring, until the right texture is obtained. Store in a non-reactive container in the fridge for up to 2 mos.

Honey Plum Jam
3 c Pitted and coarsely chopped purple plums
1/3 c Sugar
1/3 c Water
2 tb Lemon juice
2 tb Liquid honey
Combine the plums, sugar, water and lemon juice in saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat, but maintain boil. Stir and mash occasionally with back of spoon for about 15 minutes, or until thickened. Remove from heat, stir in honey. Allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate in tightly covered jars for up to 2 weeks.

Pear Honey

8 cups of peeled, cored, and chopped pears
8 cups of sugar
1cup of unsweetened pineapple juice
Cook all ingredients until the color and consistency of honey is achieved.
It says to process the final product in a BWB for 10 minutes.

I also have experimented with pears poached in red wine- I originally got the idea from Victrola a few years ago- basically wine cooked with lemon (later removed) and various spices and sugar- then cook the pears until tender in the wine. I've used white merlot with homeade glogg and also reiseling I beleive with Amaretto and vanilla. A cinnamon stick in each jar and a few allspice berries, cloves, peppercorns, etc.
Later I reheat the pears and then thicken the juice with corn starch and pour over ice cream or pound cake.
I don't really have a specific recipe- its a work in progress, but these always go over well.

Plum Tarte

Prep & cook time : About 10 minutes to mix;
1 hour to bake at 350º
Makes: 8 servings

Ingrediants : 1/2+ cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1+ cup all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
2 large eggs
12-16 Italian Plums, halved and pits removed
Cinnamon and sugar mixture
Juice of one-half Lemon
Powdered sugar for sprinkling, if desired

1. Butter and dust with flour a 9 inch cake pan with removable bottom.

2. In a bowl, combine 1 c. sugar and 1/2 c. butter; slowly beat to blend, then on high until well mixed.

3. Add 1 c. flour, baking powder, and eggs. Stir to combine, then beat on high until the stiff batter is well blended.

4. Scrape batter into cake pan and spread to smooth.

5. Place halves of Plums evenly around perimeter-- like the numbers on a clock, and then fill in the middle evenly with more plum halves.

6. Sprinkle lemon juice over plums.

7. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture over all.

8. Bake on center rack of oven just until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan, about 55-60 minutes. Run a thin-blade knife around pan rim. Let cool at least 10 minutes, or, if making ahead, wrap cake airtight when cool and let stand at room temperature for up to 1 day.

9. Remove pan from rim, dust with the powdered sugar, and cut into wedges. (Serving with ice cream is great!)

We like Italian plums best for this sauce...it's a spicier version of the Ball Blue Book's recipe:

* Exported from MasterCook *

Asian Plum Sauce

Recipe By :Katie
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Preserving

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
8 cups pitted and chopped plums
1 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar -- (use more or less, depending on the sweetness of your plums)
1/2 cup white sugar
2/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 medium jalapeno pepper -- finely chopped (or use 2-3 jalapenos)
4 teaspoons mustard seed
2 teaspoons salt
6 cloves garlic -- minced
1/4 cup minced ginger -- or 1-2 tbsp. powdered ginger*

Bring all ingredients except plums to a boil in a non-aluminum pan. Stir in plums. Simmer until thick, stirring often. Mash with a potato masher or blend if you want a smoother sauce.

To can: Fill hot, clean jars with hot sauce, leaving 1/4" headspace. Wipe rims, adjust lids and process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes at 0-1000 ft., 25 minutes, 1001-6000 ft., or 30 minutes, above 6000 ft. Makes about 6 half pints.

This sauce is great for dipping, as a grilling sauce, or brushed on baked pork chops or chicken.

Source:
"adapted from the Ball Blue Book"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTES : *Katies notes: This is the mild version...We like it spicy, so I use more jalapeno and don't remove the seeds and ribs. I also use 1/2 cup minced ginger. The amount of sugar added depends on your plums.

Thanks! I will be trying some of these over the next week.

It's funny sometimes...........being a canner, when someone offers free produce (just want to get rid of it, no time to deal with it), I am thinking in canning quantities, sometimes, they are not. :+) I always appreciate the gift. But I was worried about having enough ideas to use up a bunch of plums and pears......

There's about 2# of plums and maybe 3-4# of pears. I'm good. I can do that. I am debating if it's worth firing up the BWB for what will be about 3-4 pints of pears, and maybe one batch of Katie's Plum Sauce.

It was just interesting to me to observe the difference in thinking. What's a lot to one person is "little" to another, depending on perspective.
Looking forward to deciding what to do with the fruit though. :+)
Deanna

Deanna,

Good point about the quantities! I, for example, have been bemoaning my low harvest of tomatoes this year. A neighbour to whom I had promised some asked nervously if it was going to be a problem for me to give her a pint box of mixed heirloom cherries to bring to Toronto as a hostess gift. I said goodness no, I'd picked her a 3-litre basket of them. I just meant that, for 80 plants, I didn't have the amount of tomatoes I should have. Very different from not having enough to share some cherries! ;-)

[On a less tasteful note, your comment makes me think of the Woody Allen movie where you see him and his wife in split screen, each talking separately to the shrink, who has asked if they have s*x often. He says, "No way, hardly ever, no more than twice a week!" and she says, "Oy, all the time --- it must be twice a week!"] ;-)

Zabby

Yep! All in your perspective!

This co-worker is from the city...just recently bought 17 acres in the country.

She works close to 60 hours a week and is going to school. I'll bet canning is the furthest thing from her mind!

Deanna