Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Pears, Meringue of.— Pare, core, and halve a dozen pears, and stew them in sjTup until they are sufficiently tender to be pierced easily with a needle ; put them into a deep tartdish which they will almost fill, and boil the syrup quickly until it is so much reduced that, when poured over the pears, it will only half cover them. Whisk the whites of four eggs to a solid froth. Stir into them four table-spoonfuls of powdered and sifted sugar, and spread the mixture evenly and smoothly over the fruit; put it at once into a moderate oven, and bake until the crust is lightly coloured and crisp even in the middle. Time to bake, half an hour. Probable cost, Is. Sufficient for four or six persons. Pears, Pickled. — Put three quarts of good vinegar into a tin saucepan with a dessert-spoonful of salt, twelve onions, and two dozen large baking pears which have been well rubbed with a soft cloth, but not pared. Simmer gently until the pears are tender without being broken, then take them out, and when they are cold pare and core them, and divide each one into six or eight pieces. When the onions also are soft take them out, and rub them through a fine hair-sieve. Put into the vinegar a dessertspoonful of peppercorns, a small tea-spoonful of cloves, a small tea-spoonful of allspice, six blades of mace, two ounces of whole ginger, three dessert-spoonfuls of turmeric, two cloves of garlic ; if liked, a dessert-spoonful of mustard seed and a dessert-spoonful of coriander seed may also be added. Let these ingredients boU for ten minutes, then stir in the mashed onion, and boil ten minutes longer. Put the pears into jars, and pour the seasoned vinegar over them. Divide the spices equally amongst the jars, and place them at the top of the pears. Tie the jars down with bladder, and store in a cool dry place. Time, about one hour and a haK to stew the pears. Probable cost, 28. 6d. Sufficient for a gallon of pickle. Pears, Preserved. — Gather the pears before they are quite ripe, pare, halve, core, and weigh them, and put them into a deep jar, allowing three pounds of sugar to every four pounds of pears, and just enough water to moisten the sugar and keep the fruit from burning. The strained juice and thinly-pared rind of a lemon an,d an inch of whole ginger may be put with every two pounds of pears. Place the jar in a saucepan of boiling water, and let the fruit steam gently for six or seven hours. Turn it into jars, fasten these down securely, and store in a cool dry place. Two or three drops of cochineal may be added to the pears after they are cooked to improve the appearance. It must not be expected that pears preserved as above will keep good more than three or four months. Probable cost, 8d. per pound. Pears, Preserved, Red.— If when preserving pears it is wished to impart a deep pink tinge to the fruit and syrup, use a perfectly bright block-tin saucepan. If this is not convenient, add three or four drops of cochineal to the syrup, or a small proportion of red currant or red gooseberry -juice.