This year, from our three pear trees, we harvested well over 400 pounds of fruit. We did can some pears to enjoy later, but we were left with loads! So, we decided to try (again) to make Perry, or pear wine. We have tried to make it once or twice previously, but it wasn’t really that good. Here we go trying and trying again!
First, we wash the pears.
Then, we cut the pears in half.
The halves go in a sterilized bucket.
From the bucket, the pieces go into the hopper of a fruit crusher. This is a new piece of equipment that we purchased specifically for this process.
Loren is turning the teeth of the fruit crusher while the mash (or must) falls into a second sterilized bucket.
So much mashing!
We got two buckets worth of mash.
Next, we set up the strainer press by lining it with a brand new paint strainer.
The mash/must goes into the press.
The mash is so juicy that it started draining before we had the press full. Good thing we had yet another sterilized bucket ready!
Once the juice stopped coming out freely, Loren placed the weight on the top and we began to push it down,
Here, he’s got the weight under the screw part of the press to get out as much juice as possible by cranking it down.
After much cranking, dumping, and refilling, we have a (very) full bucket of pear juice.
Here is the final product: 5 gallons of pear juice with a packet of wine yeast added. Initially, it is very active, with air bubbling up through the airlock every few seconds. But over the days and weeks, it calms down a bit. In several weeks, we hope to enjoy some pear wine.
A few days after this, Loren processed ANOTHER 5-gallons of pear juice from a different cultivar of pears. We now have a total of ten gallons brewing away!