How To Make Pear Syrup || Simple Homemade Recipe

You can make a delicious syrup out of pears. I’m going to share an easy recipe with you that will have this sweet syrup on your table in just about 30 minutes.

And once you get a taste, you’re going to find yourself making it all the time. It’s a great way to sweeten a beverage, top a pancake, or add a little flavor to a plain bowl of oatmeal.

This syrup is really versatile. There is even more that you can do with it. But we’ll cover all of that later in this post. 

For now … let’s talk about what pear syrup is.

What Is Pear Syrup?

Pear syrup is basically a fruit flavored simple syrup. And simple syrup is nothing more than sugar dissolved in water and lightly simmered until it reduces to a syrup like consistency. 

Traditionally, a simple syrup recipe uses one part sugar to one part water. I’ve changed that ratio a bit for this recipe, because I’m using honey instead of white sugar.

Honey is sweeter than white sugar. So, it isn’t necessary to use as much in the recipe.

One of the main draws of this pear syrup recipe is that it allows you to enjoy the sweetness of syrup without unhealthy processed sugars.

It’s hard to find that in a grocery store. But you can make it happen in your own kitchen with very little effort.

Choosing The Fruit For This Recipe

You can use any kind of pears that you like to make this syrup. As a matter of fact, you can use any fruit that you like in this recipe.

I used bartlett pears for this post. But I’ve used many different varieties in the past, including; red anjou, bosc, and seckel.

When chosing your pears try to snag some that are rather ripe. Pears, like most fruit, become sweeter as they ripen. And that will effect the level of sweetness in the syrup you make with them.

However, if you can’t find any that are really ripe, juicy pears don’t despair. Just pick up what you can, and let them ripen a bit more at home in a paper bag on the counter.

Or go ahead and make the syrup with them anyway. It won’t be as flavorful as it would be with very ripe pears. But it will still be very tasty. 

Definitely stick to using fresh pears in this recipe. Canned pears would be way too sweet.

Ingedients Needed To Make This Recipe

You really only need three ingredients to make a great pear syrup. There are many variations that you can make if you’re inclined though. I’ll touch on those later in the post.

For now, here’s a list of the three basic ingredients needed to make a very simple pear syrup.

• PEARS – As mentioned earlier, any pears can be used for this recipe. 
• HONEY – A good quality honey is best to make this syrup.
• WATER – Use well water if you have it. If not, it’s best to pick up some pure spring water at the store.

How To Make Pear Syrup

Gather up a few tools and let’s get started making pear syrup. You’ll need a small saucepan, a cutting board, a sharp knife, a fine mesh strainer, a piece of muslin or a flour sack towel, a potato masher, food processor, or an immersion blender, a wooden spoon, and a mason jar or some other non-plastic storage container.

Start by cutting the pears in half, removing the seeds and stem, and chunking them. You’ll want the pear chunks to be about 1″ thick. There’s no need to peel the pears first. The skin will add more flavor and it contains a lot of nutrients as well.

Place the prepared pear in a small saucepan, pour in the water, and put it on the stove top on medium heat.

Once it comes to a gentle boil, turn the heat down, place a lid on the pot, and allow it to simmer for 15 minutes. Then remove it from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.

Mash the pears well with a potato masher, blend the mixture with an immersion blender, or run it through a food processor.

Then place the mesh strainer over a bowl, line it with the muslin or flour sack towel, and strain the pear pulp from the liquid.

Use the wooden spoon to stir the pear mixture in the strainer. This is the easiest way to get all of the liquid to release into the bowl.

You can pick up the cloth and squeeze the pulp gently to get as much liquid from it as possible. Trust me you don’t want to waste a drop. It’s heavenly.

Pour the liquid back into the saucepan and add the honey. Place it over very low heat and allow the honey to melt. You can allow the mixture to reduce and become as thick as you like at this point.

Remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to come to room temperature. Pour it into a mason jar or another glass container of your choice.

If you have a nice glass bottle and you want your syrup presentation to have aesthetic appeal, go for it. It’s a nice touch.

Variations For This Recipe

The simplicity of this recipe is really part of it’s appeal. But no matter how tasty it is, just like it is, every now and again the desire for a little twist on it’s flavor arises.

Any one of the following makes the perfect addition to this recipe, when that desire hits you. You can put them in the saucepan with the pears as they’re cooking for a light flavor infusion.

Or you can add them to the finished product, and allow them to infuse there overnight for a stronger flavor.

After they’ve imparted their flavor to the mixture you can strain them out. But you don’t have to. I leave them in and allow them to continue to work their magic over time. 

This does sometimes result in an herb, or maybe a slice of ginger, landing in my food/beverage. I don’t mind. I’m a pretty crunchy kind of girl.

• CINNAMON – You can use ground cinnamon or just add a cinnamon stick.
• GINGER – You can use ground ginger of just add a few ginger slices.
• FRESH HERBS – Mint, rosemary, basil, lavender, thyme, sage, and hibiscus are all great choices.
• VANILLA – You can use vanilla extract or just add a vanilla bean.

Any combination of these additions will work wonders as well; cinnamon sticks and ginger slices, mint and vanilla, ginger slices and hibiscus. The sky is the limit.

If you prefer to use a sweetener other than honey you absolutely can. There are many choices out there so feel free to use what you like best.

I like to stick to healthier choices, like; date syrup, maple syrup, monk fruit, agave nectar, and coconut sugar. But you can also go with cane sugar or brown sugar if you’re okay with that.

Uses For Pear Syrup

This homemade syrup has seemingly endless uses. And I’m going to touch on as many as I can think of for you.

But do use your imagination when deciding how you’re going to enjoy your syrup. And if you find other ways to eat it, let me know. I’m game to give it a shot!

I find that it’s deep pear flavor is great in cocktails, mocktails, coffee, hot tea, hot apple cider, hot toddies, lemonade, and iced tea.

It makes a really great soda too. Simply stir a bit into a glass of club soda and you’re good to go.

I’ve seen others add a little lemon juice or lime juice to their pear soda. I prefer mine without. But, you do you.

You can even use it as a rim topper for pear cocktails. This is especially good in the fall season.

If you want to drizzle it over something, try; pancakes, waffles, french toast, oatmeal, yogurt, or ice cream. Can anyone say, “Vanilla ice cream topped with pear syrup, please?!?!”. YUM!

Pear syrup can be used to make really amazing salad dressings. This is particularly great in the fall. Just add a little of your favorite vinegar and some fresh herbs and you’ll have the perfect salad topping.

It can be brushed over cakes, before you frost them, to help retain their moistness. Honestly, it is delicious on a cake just as it is. No frosting necessary.

But … my absolute favorite way to indulge in pear syrup is as a meat glaze. That’s right … it makes an amazing glaze for meat!

I use it to cook chicken, turkey, pork, and ham; especially ham. It is absolutely out of this world. Particularly when you add a few fresh herbs to the mix.

Having simple syrups in your kitchen, like this pear syrup, is going to take your cooking to the next level. Guaranteed.

How To Store Pear Syrup

There is enough honey in this recipe to give it quite a long shelf life. It should stay good in the fridge for at least a month, maybe longer. Just keep an eye out for any signs of spoilage.

Be sure to store this pear simple syrup mixture in an airtight container. I like to use a wide-mouth jar. I use them for everything. It’s an easy way to store liquids and keeps things simple enough.

You can also freeze this tasty, sweet pear deliciousness to preserve it for future use. You can even freeze it in an ice cube tray, pop the cubes out, and place them in a freezer friendly container, so that you can thaw any amount you like when you want to use it.

It’s a great way to make use of an overabundance of pears in the kitchen.

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