After a couple of weeks of collecting windfall pears (and apples) from the garden, i decided it was time to make use of the pears. They are not actually quite ripe yet, still mostly being quite hard and not very sweet. i've been adding some to dinners i prepare sometimes as they soon soften up in the cook pot.
However, i think now they are suitable for making Perry (Pear Cider) and Pear vinegar. The process is the same; first the Perry comes, then if you don't bottle it but leave it in the fermenting barrel, it turns to vinegar.
Pear or Apple Cider vinegar is a Natural Medicine which has many health benefits.
| Pears from the garden | Cleaning the pears |
First i soaked the pears in a bowl of water for a few minutes then rinsed them a couple of times, then drained in a cullender. I had enough pears for two full large bowls/cullenders.
While the pears were soaking i cleaned a 25 litre plastic barrel. It had previously been washed, but i washed again with cold water, then sprayed with a Chlorine Dioxide (MMS) solution (10 activated drops per 30 ml of water) to sterilise the barrel.
| Cleaning the barrel | Cutting the pears |
Next, having first also sprayed the chopping surface with MMS, i began to cut the pears into small pieces, removing any bruised or insect damaged parts.
Every few minutes i would put what i had chopped so far into the barrel and add filtered water to cover the chopped pears. This minimises the oxidisation process which turns them brown if this is not done.
Part way through i added a cupful of brown cane sugar and gave it a good stir to dissolve the sugar.
| Adding sugar | Bruised pears for composting |
As you can see from the picture on the right, there was quite a lot of unusable pears / parts.
When all the pears were finished being chopped i had about 1/4 of a barrel of pears & i filled it up to approx 2/3rds full with water.
Earlier in the year (in May) when the apple cider vinegar made last year was bottled, the "mother" (a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast known as a Scoby) was saved in a jar with some of the vinegar. Now, although the Scoby was from apple vinegar, and here we are making Perry / Pear vinegar, i figure it will speed up the fermentation process. A Scoby would form anyway naturally in the barrel, but as i have one (well enough for 2 or 3 barrels) anyway, why not use it?
| Scoby in a jar | Scoby added to barrel |
Next i covered the barrel with a clean cloth and secured it using the metal ring which came with the barrel, to prevent any additional bacteria from the air entering the barrel. And finally i moved the barrel into the greenhouse on the south facing balcony to keep it warm to speed up the fermentation process.
I then went to the garden and collected more apples and pears from the ground as the wind had been blowing and more had fallen. It's good to collect them as soon as possible to minimise insect / rodent damage.
| Barrel in greenhouse | More pears (and apples) |
The contents of the barrel need to be stirred every day (with wooden or plastic stirrer). After some time (how long depends on the temperature, but perhaps 2 - 4 days) bubbles will appear on the surface which indicates the fermentation has started. The contents should continue to be stirred every day until the fermentation has finished (bubbles stop forming). This could take from approx 2 - 4 weeks, again depending upon the ambient temperature. At this point, or before, the liquid can be tasted (take small sample with wooden, glass, ceramic or plastic spoon or cup - NOT metal) to test the sweetness.
As the fermentation happens the sugar is turned to alcohol and the sweetness lessens. If the goal is to produce Perry (hard - ie. alcoholic - pear cider) then when there is just a little or virtually no sweetness left, the liquid (Perry) can then be added to glass bottles or jars (perhaps with a tiny bit of extra sugar in each bottle or jar if there is hardly any sweetness left), and a secondary fermentation process will begin in the containers. The containers need to be burped (lids loosened then re-tightened) every day to ensure the container does not explode! The Perry is ready to drink once that secondary fermentation is finished (perhaps a week or so), and can probably be stored for several months in a cool place. Another small Scoby may form at the top of the container over time.
If the goal is to produce pear vinegar, then instead of bottling after the first fermentation period is finished, the liquid is left in the barrel for a much longer period. Again it depends on ambient temperature, but it could take another 2 - 4 months. A Scoby will form on the surface during this period. The vinegar can be tasted from time to time until you decide it is ready, and can then be bottled, and will last indefinitely (or at least some years) i think.
Last year we bottled some in early December, then more in May this year, but still have two 50 litre barrels (1 of pear vinegar and one of apple cider vinegar) not yet bottled. I will do that soon as i will need the barrels to make more.
Well, it's very good to have a shot every morning (perhaps with added water if it's too strong for your taste) and 15 minutes before each meal. This aids digestion and gives numerous other health benefits. There are also may other uses, such as household cleaning, preservation of vegetables and fruits (pickling) etc. You can DuckDuckGo it (don't use Google as they are a corrupt centralised censoring organisation, and we wouldn't want to support the violence that perpetrates by using their services, would we? :-) to find out many uses. I have so much i give bottles away when i can. I could even sell it (for maybe 5 or more Euro's ber bottle), but personally i prefer to gift it.
I will probably store the best of the apples in the cellar, separated with straw and sprinkled with wood ash to help preserve them, and in another week or so i'll make some Apple Cider / Apple Cider Vinegar in the same way as above.
As the apples and pears continue to fall from the trees, and become sweeter, i may make some jam and slice and dehydrate some of them. 
Well, that's all (for now) folks. Thanks for reading this far. Please comment or ask questions below. If you live in Kyustendil area in Bulgaria and want some free Pear or Apple Cider Vinegar, just ask, i have plenty.
Namste
Atma
**Ps. ** Did you read My Favourite Breakfast post from earlier today?
