Smallholding Projects – Making Pear Cider
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MAKING PEAR CIDER Replacing Apples with Pears is All it Takes Extracting the juice from the pears is the first step to making pear cider, AKA perry. In fact, if you know how to extract the juice from apples, you are already on your way to making pear cider. The only major difference between pears and apples is the need to keep a special watch out for rotting fruit. Most varieties of pears can be turned into juice right off the tree, unless they are picked green. For the best pear cider, you may want to add a few tart apples into the mix. Pears tend to be very sweet, but often boring, so a little twist of apple can add character to the perry. You will need the same equipment to make pear cider that you need for making apple cider.
The sugar content of the pear juice is essential to success. Use the hydrometer to check the concentration. If the reading is over 1070, you have enough sugar to ferment and preserve the pear cider. If the reading is lower, you will need to add a sugar syrup or honey. If you use honey, use a mild honey, such as orange blossom or clover honey or the pear’s subtle flavour will be overwhelmed. Stir the syrup into the juice (if needed) and then pour into the carboy using a funnel. Add 5 Campden tablets to the carboy and seal. It will take at least two hours for the Campden tablets to kill the wild yeasts the fruit picked up from the air. These renegade yeasts can throw off the fermentation process. Wait at least two hours, overnight if temperatures are cool, before you prepare the yeast mixture. You want all of the action from the Campden tablets to be over before you add the wine or champagne yeast. Prepare the yeast mixture by warming up a 500 ml. of pear juice until it is 38 – 40°C. Any warmer, and you will kill the yeast. Stir in the yeast. When the yeast begins to bubble, pour the mixture into the carboy. Stir with a sterile rod. Place the rubber stopper and fermentation lock on. Now place your pear cider in a warm place, but not over 40°C. Wrap the bottle with a blanket to protect it from cold drafts and temperature fluctuations. Yeast is very sensitive to temperature. At 10°C, the yeast will grow very slowly. At 20°C the yeast will grow twice as fast. The yeast grows twice as fast again when it reaches 30°C. Depending on the temperature of the room you store the carboy in, it can take anywhere from two to four weeks for the pear cider to ferment completely. When the hydrometer says that the specific gravity of the pear cider has reached 1005, your perry has enough alcohol to preserve it. Stop fermentation by adding another five Campden tablets to kill off any remaining yeast. Siphon the perry into another sterile carboy. Cover tightly, and let the cider stand for several days to allow any additional sediments to settle out. Rack off into bottles and seal. Now, isn’t that simple? The key is cleanliness throughout the entire perry cider making process. Make sure the carboy is sterile. Make sure the bottles that you decant the perry into are sterile. And of course, you need to be patient. Pear cider takes time to reach its prime. Click on the links below for more info on learning to make your own apple cider: A Guide to All Things Cider at Old Scrump’s Cider House How to Make Cider – A Complete Guide How to Make Cider – A Video Guide Still looking for Your Smallholding? Visit Greenshifters for the latest smallholdings for sale, rent and exchange. Article by Rural Smallholdings Magazine
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