I’ve been wanting to make pear mustard for a while. I live in an area famous for this type of preserve (Cremona/Mantova), how could I not try? Finally, the time has come! I followed my friend Alice’s recipe, and we prepared it together. I obviously thank her a lot for her availability. Do you like mustard? It’s a product made with fruit, sugar, and mustard essence and is generally consumed with boiled meats or cheeses. Preparing it at home is not difficult, but it requires some care. Let’s see how to do it together!
Other jar recipes…
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 8 Days
- Preparation time: 2 Hours
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients for pear mustard
The pears must be nice and firm.
If you want to increase or decrease the quantities, always keep in mind that for 1 kg of pears, you need 400 g of sugar.
The mustard essence in drops will be provided by your pharmacist.
- 6.6 lbs pears
- 6 cups granulated sugar
- mustard essence (in drops)
Tools
- 3 Bowls large
- 1 Saucepan with thick bottom
- 1 Bowl large ceramic
- 4 Jars
Preparation of pear mustard
Wash the pears, peel them, remove the core, and slice them.
Place them in large bowls and add the sugar (I used 3 bowls and placed 2.2 lbs of fruit and 2 cups of sugar in each).
Mix well so that all the fruit is covered in sugar.
Cover with clean towels (or plastic wrap) and let rest for 24 hours, stirring occasionally.
The next day, they will look like this:
In a thick-bottomed saucepan, pour some of the pears and their maceration liquid (to adjust the quantity, fill until the bottom of the saucepan is covered). You can also use multiple saucepans simultaneously to shorten the time.
Place the saucepan on medium heat and let the fruit cook, stirring occasionally, and lower the heat when the liquid begins to boil. It will be ready when the syrup starts to caramelize. But BE CAREFUL not to let it caramelize too much. The pears should not become dark, and the syrup should remain soft. It will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
Once ready, transfer them to a ceramic bowl and let them cool completely until the next day. I recommend weighing the bowl before filling it with fruit so you can accurately calculate the weight of the pear mustard obtained.
Proceed the same way until all the fruit is used up.
In the meantime, sterilize the jars you intend to use following the procedure described HERE.
Accurately calculate the weight of the mustard obtained.
Put a small amount in one of the sterilized jars and go to the pharmacy. Based on the weight, the pharmacist will add the necessary mustard drops to the jar (it’s about 10 drops for each kg of mustard, but it also depends on personal taste and how spicy you want it. Talk to your pharmacist).
At this point, in an open-air place, perfectly mix the jar’s contents with all the remaining mustard (protect your face while doing this operation because mustard is very irritating both for inhalation and eyes), then proceed to fill the jars.
Seal them well with the lid. If they got dirty and sticky while filling, rinse them under cold running water.
Let the pear mustard rest for at least a week before consuming it (it’s fine in the pantry, in the dark, as long as there are no large temperature fluctuations). But use it within a few months because it loses a bit.
Once opened, the jar of pear mustard should be stored in the refrigerator and consumed within 2/3 weeks. Enjoy! Paola
I take this opportunity to remind you that you can follow me on various social platforms to always be updated on the new recipes I publish. You can find me on Facebook (HERE), Twitter (HERE), Pinterest (HERE), Instagram (HERE), also on Tik Tok (@zenzero_limone). Thank you ♥!
