I just had my first Drippin Honey, and it's the best tasting pear I've ever had. I've also got Yonaishi and Olympic Giant, and they don't come close. It's incredibly sweet for an Asian Pear, as sweet as European Pears, but has a more distinctive taste. It's also got the texture of the Asian Pear. Up until now, Coralstar Peaches were my favorite fruit. Drippin Honey changed that. Oh my, they are so good. The fruit came out fine, with no spraying at all. The only problem is, I only got two this year (the first year I got any). Hopefully next year I'll have more. I'll certainly be planting more of them. It's a pity only Gurney's and Henry Field's sells them. I don't like either company (well, it's the same one), but that won't stop me from getting a couple more of these trees.

I sell baked goods and preserves at my local farmers' market, and my bestseller is my special onion-garlic-hot pepper jelly. I can sell up to a case a week, so as you can imagine, I make a LOT of it! And yesterday, I also made the most delicious apricot pepper jelly for the first time. Both recipes call for liquid pectin, and as many have expressed, it's not always easy to get a good set. Over the years, with trial and error, I have figured out the secret. Certo tells you to boil the fruit, add the pectin, then bring it back to the boil "for exactly one minute." But one minute is just not enough to reach a good jelling stage on pepper jelly. After adding the pectin, I boil mine for about FIVE minutes, or until the bubbles look very thick as they boil and I start to meet a slight bit of resistance as I stir the jelly. Another thing to look for, I find, is that the jelly should start setting up a bit even before you get all of the jars filled, wiped down, and the lids put on. If it's completely liquid even after it starts to cool down, you might be in trouble. However, if the occasional batch of pepper jelly doesn't set up, there is a pretty simple fix. Just open the jars, dump the jelly back into the pot and boil it hard again for 3-5 minutes before jarring it back up. You'll lose a jar in the process (due to evaporation), but it's better than remaking the jelly with extra vinegar and sugar, which yields a product that is way too cloyingly sweet to me and wastes an additional packet of pectin to boot. Trust me...I do this all the time, and it works like a charm! Happy high canning season, everyone! --Gina (lindseysluscious.blogspot.com) Here is a link that might be useful: Lindsey's Luscious

From Oregon State University (SP 50-694 Preserving Asian Pears updated February 2013): All home-canned Asian pears must be acidified to prevent growth of the bacteria which cause botulism food poisoning. Adding lemon juice before canning will bring the acidity of lower acid varieties into the safe range. They then may be safely canned using procedures for other types of pears. (Italics are mine). OSU lists the same acidification directions as for tomatoes (Asian pears are listed as a pH of 4.7 so just over the line): Add 1 Tablespoon bottled lemon juice per pint jar (2 Tablespoons per quart). Many pear recipes already include lemon juice, but an extra bit of citric acid might not be a bad idea, if you don't object to the tartness, and it wouldn't add any extra "lemon" flavor. Normal amounts would be 1/4 teaspoon citric acid per pint; 1/2 teaspoon per quart. Most recipes are also loaded with sugar, which minimizes the tart factor.

You and I both have our pears come in about the same time, which seems to be earlier than other folks. Here's what I put up, and you might want to try some of these. Canned pear halves, also did quarters and diced for other batches. Pear Honey (So Easy To Preserve, page 225) Pear Sauce (Ball Blue Book), page 22 I could live without this, but I don't eat a lot of apple sauce, either. Pear leather (after I realized I didn't care all that much for pear sauce, I used the pulp in my excalibur dehydrator and made some good tasting fruit leather. I roll & cut into tootsie-roll size chunks and wrap in parchment paper. As good as candy. Pear Jelly (Ball Complete, page 111) Very, very good. Tastes like apple jelly. Made two batches of this. Linda Lou's Apple Pie Jam Pear Juice (Ball Blue Book, page 21) for drinking...and adding to iced tea Pear Preserves (So Easy to preserve, page 40), two batches Pear Mincemeat (Ball Blue Book, page 21) based on licking the spoon afterwards, will make really great pies, tarts, etc. More canned pears... And...for the piece de resistance... Upside-down Gingerbread pear cake. Wow, yummy! Still on my list...more canned pears (I had no idea I'd like these so much since I don't care all that much for store-bought canned pears), ginger pear preserves, brandied pears (the Spirited Pears recipe in the Ball Complete book), and probably some more pear honey and pear jam and/or preserves. I'm guessing I still have about 120-150 lbs of pears left to process. All picked and waiting on me. I'm pretty tired. I have also given away a few boxes of pears. BTW...I found out my pear tree is the Pineapple Pear variety, which is an old-timer cooking pear often found on old homesteads and farms. I live on the family homestead and this pear tree has been here for a very long time. Your pear looks just like mine. I beat the squirrels this year, yay! Jill