Stewed Pears

Ingredients

• 8 large pears
• 5 oz loaf sugar
• 6 cloves
• 6 whole allspice
• 1/2 pint water
• 1/4 pint port wine
• a few drops of prepared cochineal

Instructions

1. Pare the pears, halve them, remove the cores, and leave the stalks on;
2. put them into a _lined_ saucepan with the above ingredients, and let them simmer very gently until tender, which will be in from 3 to 4 hours, according to the quality of the pears.
3. They should be watched, and, when done, carefully lifted out on to a glass dish without breaking them.
4. Boil up the syrup quickly for 2 or 3 minutes; allow it to cool a little, pour it over the pears, and let them get perfectly cold.
5. To improve the colour of the fruit, a few drops of prepared cochineal may be added, which rather enhances the beauty of this dish.
6. The fruit must not be boiled fast, but only simmered, and watched that it be not too much done.