Easy Pear Cider Recipe | Julie Blanner (2024)

FAQs

What is the best yeast for pear cider? ›

Yeast choices

Here are some of the choices: Mangrove Jack M02 Cider yeast - Ferments high degree of esters, giving excellent flavor depth. Ferments dry and crisp. Vintners Harvest MA33 – Acid reducing strain, excellent when you have too tart a juice, produces fruity esters and fusel oils giving a fresh fruit character.

Make Raw Pear Cider

Pick the pears slightly under-ripe. Let the pears ripen slightly off the tree (a process called sweating). This works best when stored in a single layer (not stacked in a box or bin) so they are exposed to air. This should take 1-2 weeks.

Pear cider can be made with imported pear juice or concentrate and can even include some apple juice. The main difference between perry and pear cider is that pear cider can use juice from edible pear varieties like Conference. "Proper" perry, on the other hand, is made only from proper perry pears.

Ingredients. Water, pear wine (water, sugar, pear juice concentrate), sugar, pear juice concentrate, carbon dioxide, acid: citric acid, natural flavouring, preservative: potassium sorbate.

Once fermentation has finished, syphon the juice into a clean demijohn or bucket and either add 1 crushed Campden Tablet per gallon and leave to clear (if you want still cider/perry) or bottle in a suitable bottle and add ½ teaspoon of sugar per pint and leave to clear (if you want to have fizzy cider/perry) .

If we add an excessive number of yeast, the fermentation process will be robust and energetic, and this may result in an excessively active fermentation.

You can use any fruit that's in season - my fave fruits to ferment are peaches, pears, strawberries and bananas. They ferment within 24-48 hours and are slightly fizzy. You can serve them with porridge or yoghurt, throw them in smoothies, top them on salads or add them to a cheese platter!

You can use a fresh liquid cider yeast from Wyeast or White Labs, or a white wine, mead, ale or lager yeast. If using dry yeast, sprinkle it evenly across the surface of the juice. Do not stir. Add the lid loosely to the fermenter or attach an airlock (partially filled with water) and seal the lid.

Just like hard apple cider, not all pears work as well, and in general the sweet varieties that are the best to enjoy as a snack are not the best for cider. For cider, the best varieties are those that are high in tannin and acid. These pears are usually smaller than dessert pears and are not intended to be eaten.

Because sorbitol is not readily fermented by yeast, it is not converted to ethanol, so perry tends to have more residual sugar than cider produced from the fermentation of apples. In addition to producing a sweeter beverage, sorbitol also contributes to increased body and a softer mouthfeel in the finished perry.

Is pear cider sweet or dry? ›

Easy drinking pear cider with an intense fruity taste. Pleasant sweetness and slightly sour combination for a very refreshing drink.

It is the product of the fermentation of specific pear varieties, grown historically in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Somerset. Perry tends to be lighter and more floral than cider. 'Pear Cider' is an alternative term for Perry, used in a wide range of styles.

Pear is down, fruit is on the up

This isn't necessarily bad news. Fruit cider is in growth rising 35% with Strongbow Dark Fruit tripling its sales. The view is that pear's decline reflects the emergence of more choice from the fruit ciders and that pear is now one of many fruit cider choices.

Poiré Domfront – French pear cider – is the toast of Normandy. At the crossroads where Normandy and Brittany meet the Mayenne, Poiré Domfront has its roots in the region's traditional pear orchards, which are unique in Europe.

5% Alcohol Content.

Pear cider recipes for home brewing of Perry will require some specific pear types for the best result. There are different classifications for pears to be used for Perry but one of the more recognized is the Polland and Beech classification: Bittersharp pears have high acidity and high tannin content.