This recipe was clipped from a newspaper and found in a large collection, date unknown. I’ve typed it below along with a scanned copy.

ANOTHER READER has a tree of small sweet pears and wonders what can be done with them other than taking two or three bites. These sweet Seikle pears make excellent pickled pears and are easy to prepare.

Prepare the pickling syrup with 1 quart white vinegar and 6 pounds granulated sugar. In a cheesecloth bag, place a piece of ginger root, 4 or 5 sticks cinnamon and 1 tablespoon ground cloves. Add to the syrup and bring to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved, then simmer until ready to cook the pears until just fork tender.

Wash and peel thin each pear; do not cut them, leaving the stem on each one. Dip into the hot syrup and cook at least a pint or two of pears at a time. Then fill hot sterilized jars and seal, process for 20 minutes in hot-water bath.

If you do not want to make that many jars then use just half the amount suggested in the recipe, which should make at least 6 pints of the pickled fruit. This recipe can be used to pickle peaches or crabapples.

Please read the Safe Canning & Food Preservation section if planning on canning this recipe.