Pyrus calleryana, or the Callery pear or Bradford pears, are a tree native to China & Vietnam. The rootstock was brought to America in the early 1900's as an experiment with different root stock.
Its a fairly hardy tree that grows upward more than it grows out however it has a relatively short lifespan for a tree, around 25 years. Despite being sterile seeds from the beginning, when it has pollinated with other pear cultivars, they can produce fertile seeds that will grow where they are dispersed.
The bradford pear is considered invasive now however it does have some good uses for it.
Also, In the spring when they bloom, while pretty, They do not smell great, kinda gross actually.
It's a great wood for high end furniture do to its small grain texture. The pears, while too small to generally eat, make a great jell or wine. They are harvestable in early to late fall, depending on where you live.
Right now they are just starting to ripen up and are ready to pic in my location (The schools near me have dozens of them so I pick a lot when i'm waiting for my kids to get out of school which im sure has caused many sideways glances or outright stares but idc)
Bradford Pear Jelly
Ingredients:
Grocery bag full of pears (5 lbs give or take)
Stick of cinnamon
lemon juice
Water
Sugar
Box of powdered pectin
Measurements are going to vary based on how much liquid you have after boiling the pears.
For every cup of liquid, you will need a cup of sugar and 2 tbsp lemon juice
Directions:
Clean the small pears by removing the stem. If you let them sit on your counter for at least a day, the stems dry out and are easier to just pull off. If you get a stubborn one, when you cut the fruit in half and it comes right out. Because it was late in the season, I had no problems pulling the stems off.
Put pears in a large pot. Fill pot with water to just above the fruit. Add stick of cinnamon.
Bring to a boil and reduce temperature to simmer. Cook until pears are mushy (about an hour). Using a potato masher or spoon, lightly mash the pears to help release the pectin and flavor.
Strain the liquid and measure how much you have left. If you have 4 cups of liquid, you will need 4 cups of sugar and 8 tbsp of lemon juice and you'll need 6 tbsp pectin
Return the juice to the pan and bring to a rolling boil, add the pectin and dissolve, add the sugar, bring back to a rolling boil and hard boil for 1-2 minutes.
Jar up and water bath can or stick them in the fridge (if you made more than a couple jars, I recommend you can it and make it shelf stable.
Now for Bradford pear wine:
I don't use a ton of fancy tuff when I make wine. We keep it simple.
8 cups of pears
2 gallons of water
wine yeast (2 packets) (you can use bread yeast but its gonna have a slight different taste to it, but i've used it tons of times
12 cups of sugar (8 if you want a drier wine)
2, 3+ gallon container (I use 5 when making wines and meads)
air lock or balloon (really, go for the airlock, they are less than 10$ on amazon and worth every damn penny)
Clean, destem and crush your pears, do it by hand not in a blender, the seeds being crushed can make it bitter. Put into your container. Bring sugar and water to a boil to dissolve the sugar, cool off a bit (you still want it hot but not hot enough to melt a container if you are using plastic)
Cap and let sit overnight. Add yeast and stir the next day.
With some tape (i use electrical cuz it has a nice stretch to it) and some plastic wrap, close off the container. Poke a small hole in the middle and gently push the airlock bottom through it. Tape it around it to secure it. Add the required amount of water to the airlock and let it sit for minimum of 8 weeks. Its best if you can let it sit 6 months.
After your allotted time, rack it (which means strain it, let it sit and settle, gently pouring off after all has settled as to not disturb the sediment. do this several times for a clear wine. The second container is for the racking. After each racking, cap it and let sit for a few days to settle more sediment.
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