Saffron Pears

These pears are the first part of two posts.  I decided to create these so that I could pull of a very quick and elegant dessert at the holidays and later in the year.  I decided to go with Seckel pears since they would be small enough to fit into the jar whole.

That said just by themselves they are great.  You really cant go wrong with saffron, wine, sugar and pears.

 Saffron Seckel Pears

12 seckel pears

1 bottle white wine, preferably Late Harvest Riesling or Gewürztraminer

1 C sugar or honey

2 pinches saffron

Place the saffron in 4 tablespoons of boiling water.  Allow the saffron to hydrate for at least 15 mins.  Meanwhile place the wine and sweetener in a large pot.  Bring to a low simmer.  While simmering peel your pears.  You can peel completely or in a spiral pattern.  With a melon baller remove the seeds and most of the core.  With Seckel pears you will need to use the smallest baller you can find.  Place the peeled pears and the saffron in the sweetened wine mixture. Simmer for 10 mins making sure that the liquid covers them. Remove the pears and place in your jars.  I used quarts but pints would work as well.  Process for 20 min in pints; 25 for quarts. Enjoy