A Very Merry Perry Update

We started brewing our own pear cider in the basement at the end of August. We had thought it might not be ready until Christmas, but the liquid had cleared, and the fermentation had stopped. The time had come, already, to taste it.

It is seriously good. Who knew the pears from my parents' garden could be so delicious? For many years these pears have fallen from the trees, left to rot or to be devoured by wasps.

We have a bottle of the perry in the fridge and gave another to a friend. My husband has decanted the rest into  demi-johns to allow it to mature, so it will hopefully have a fuller flavour for Bonfire Night and then again for Christmas.

As I related in my first post on the cider brewing, we had more pears than we knew what to do with. There was only so much the brewing bucket, and indeed the juicer, could take - we seriously need to invest in a press for next year! So we stewed as many pears as we could and then froze them.

On Monday my wonderful chef of a husband cooked up one of the frozen batches and made a delicious chocolate and pear trifle.

It's been great taking something that grows on our own land (ok, my parents' land), and turning it into something so tasty.

More cider updates to follow in due course!