[Lily]

Behind the kids' trampoline (an eyesore) we discovered pears growing. Loads of them. They are big and round and very hard.
I would like to poach them in syrup or wine.
Any ideas or advice would be very welcome.

Also can you do anything out of rosehips?

Thanks

Amelie

[muntjac]

pick pears when they drop in ur hand when bent up.....peel finly poach with bramble and syrup water and then bottle hot pour on more syrup n seal jars ............ and with rose hips .... syrup.. google recipes for both pears and aslo rose hips ,someof the pagan sites have great rose hip and wild fruit recipes

[chrissie B]

i desolve a table spoon of sugar in some red wine , will depend on how tart your wine is , then bring to the boil drop in some peeled pears put cut side down first ,turn down the heat till just tender and turn over for a couple of mins .
take out the pears bring wine back to the boile and add some loganberry jam or cranberry , plum is nice as well allow to thicken and reduce by half arrange pairs on a plate pour over the wine sauce , its lovley hot but i pprefer  it cold with strainged youghurt in dollops around the edge , we just give every one a spoon and let them tuck in , its the greek way , if you use low fat youghurt at least 2% fat its good for diets too.
i have found if you can make day defore its
 even better.
chrissie b

[Celtic Eagle]

If you have enough pears bout 4lb could try a gallon of pear wine or perry I'll see if I can post a recipie after

As for rosehips well they reckon make great wine I tried it foul went straight in the sink

Rosehip jelly or syrup may be a better bet sure one of the preserving experts will know.

Have fun

[jacnal]

I just googled for an image of rosehips. We've plenty at the site going to waste. Can I pick them and do something with them, or might I poison myself? Are they safely edible like blackberries, for example?

[muntjac]

NO they have to deseeded and then cooked etc  

[WG.]

Remember to dry the seeds for home-made itching powder!

Rosehip syrup : http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/food/print/recipe93.shtml

[Trillium]

Over here rosehip jelly is very popular and nutritious. Same with dried rosehip tea. You'd need to take the seeds out of the pods to do either. Easy to Google some recipes for these.

[jacnal]

NO they have to deseeded and then cooked etc  

What exactly do we eat, the flesh or the seeds. I'll pick a couple to dissect and study, lol!

[muntjac]

flesh only  

[Babycat]

Rosehip jam is very common in scandinavia, as normal on the brekkie table as strawberry jam is in the UK, and can also be stewed with apples. Rosehip jams is a bit like eating apricots and very yummy.  Here is a recipe I have translated from hurdy gurdy.  

Rose Hip Jam
1 pound prepared rose hips (about 4 quarts)
1 cup of water
Sugar

In a large pan, add the rose hips and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until very soft--about 20 minutes (add more water if necessary). Press or strain the mixture through a sieve to remove any seeds and to reduce large chunks of hips. Add one pound of sugar (about 3 1/2 cups) to one pound of pulp and simmer. Check the taste and add more sugar if desired. Cook until the mixture has thickened to jam-like consistency. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

There was also a recipe for soup which was same as above but using more water and cornflour but that just sounds gross.

Rosehip powder is sold in healthshops and is highly beneficial for people with joint problems such as arthritis.

x Gina

[muntjac]

had my first conference pear today .... seems strange but the flavour is not so intense as i think last years was ,,,, anybody else ?