Just Like Grandma

My Grandma has been a hugely influential figure in my life. She has been a great role model to me in life, love, faith and the kitchen. When I would go over as a child to the farm she and grandpa lived on it seemed we would always end up baking or making something. Tea biscuits, cookies for every occasion (Halloween, Valentines, Spring, Friday....you get the idea), and applesauce; delicious, warm, apple sauce. Its come to the point in time at Hill Giant Farm when our apples and pears are finally beginning to ripen enough to be processed. Today I thought of my Grandma a lot as I used her Apple-saucer to make my yummy pear sauce.

My apple-saucer.

There's a great story behind this apple-saucer. In 1952 my Grandma was invited to an aluminumware party- kind of like a Tupperware party, only everything was aluminum cookware. She had been saving her egg and other money for quite some time, for what she wasn't sure. When she got to the party, she was enamoured by the deluxe item; a 15 piece canning set-pots, strainers, apple-saucer, sieve, etc. She bought it that night and paid cash, a proud moment for a common farm wife. Over time some of the pieces have been retired, dented or lost. But there are still a few pieces left. A few years ago when she realized that I was stepping up my canning endeavours, my Grandma honoured me with the gift of her Apple-saucer. I was, and still am, so excited to own it. It's nothing fancy, but it sure does a nice job on making sauce. 3 metal legs attached to a thin metal circle creates a stand and holds the strainer piec
e. Once the boiled fruit is placed inside the strainer you squish it through the sieve with a big, brown, wooden pestle. It works quite well!

For those of you who are interested in how to make pear sauce, it's actually quite easy. I've listed instructions below.

1. Wash several jars and sterilize by boiling in water for several minutes. Place snap lids in warm water in a small dish.

They aren't pretty, but they'll sure be delicious!

2. Cut the ends and any bad spots off of the pears. Cut pears in half and throw into a large pot. Don't worry about taking out seeds or cores, that will get separated out later on.

3. Add water until the pot of pears is about half full. Boil over high heat until all of the pears are soft enough to be broken with a

spoon.

4. Place a strainer over a bowl. Ladle pears in small batches into a strainer of some sort (the finer the strainer the better) and use a wooden spoon to press the flesh of the pears through the holes. The peel and seeds will stay in the strainer and can be composted. Or, if you have an apple-saucer, this is the stage at which you would use it.

Saucesome!

5. Remove jars, one at a time, from the boiling water and fill with the pear sauce. To each 500ml jar add 1/4 tsp of nutmeg and 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. Mix the spice into the sauce with a non-metallic utensil (if you use metal the taste will transfer). Leave 1/2 inch of head space.

6. Place snap lid and ring on the jar. Place filled jars into a hot water canner or bath and boil for 15 minutes, making sure the jars don't tip.

7. Remove jars and let cool. You should hear the snap lids pop as they seal. If a jar does not seal within 2 hours, re-boil it.

There you go. Simple, delicious, and nutritious. You can use the same easy method for apples too. Enjoy!
Megan