25th October 2025 - Pear Mostarda

Pear Mostarda

Looking for something to do with a glut of pears supplied by a neighbour as something different from the usual chutney/jelly and already have a pear wine on the go, googling led me to pear mostarda, an Italian recipe that can be made with a number of different fruits and not just pears. Having read through a few, I realised that a key ingredient of mustard essence is not generically available in the UK, so would have to substitute with mustard powder. I found https://www.riverford.co.uk/recipes/pear-mostarda but the idea of 6 tablespoons of mustard powder scared me, it also didn't sound quite like the way the Italian's did it, so kept looking and found https://www.splendidtable.org/story/2016/06/07/pear-mostarda which the method sounded better. My recipe is basically a merge of the two in ingredients and process.

Ingredients

2kg Conference pears (weight after processing)

~1kg caster sugar (depends on how sweet the pears are)

1 tsp vanilla essence 

75ml white wine

~8 tsp mustard powder (Colmans) 

2 tsp black mustard seeds

2 tsp lemon juice

Method

1. Day1
   Peel the pears. Chop them in half lengthways, then each half in half again. Cut away the core from each quarter, then cut each quarter in half widthways. Weigh your chopped pears in a bowl and add half the weight in sugar. Add the vanilla essence (or possibly go for the seeds from a vanilla pod as per the 2nd recipe) and the lemon juice. Mix thoroughly so the pears are fully covered. Cover the bowl and refrigerate, stirring the pears every 8 hours or so. They are ready for the next step when the sugar has dissolved into the juices of the pears.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Day2 (or 3!)
   Drain the pears in a colander set over a bowl to catch the syrup. Transfer the syrup to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 5 minutes, then add the pears. Raise the heat to high and boil the pears for 1 minute. Then remove from the heat and pour the pears and the syrup into a shallow heatproof bowl. Cover and leave overnight.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Next day
   Drain the pears in a colander set over a bowl to catch the syrup. Return the fruit to the heatproof bowl. Transfer the syrup to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 5 minutes. Pour the hot syrup over the pears. Cover and leave overnight.
4. Next day
   Repeat the process one more time, draining the fruit in a colander and boiling the syrup and at this point add the white wine. The syrup should be thickened like maple syrup rather than honey. If it becomes too thick, add a splash of water and boil briefly.
• At this point you need to determine whether the pears are sufficiently candied. Taste a piece. It should be dense, slightly sticky, and tender, and not raw at all. (If the pears still have an uncooked texture, pour the hot syrup over them and leave overnight.)
• If they were not ready, you need to repeat the boiling process of the syrup again, adding additional water if it becomes to thick.
  
  
  
  
5. Once they are properly candied, let the pears and syrup cool to room temperature. Add the black mustard seeds and then start adding the mustard powder a teaspoonful at a time to the pears in syrup and stir to combine thoroughly. Taste to determine the spiciness, and add more mustard powder as desired depending on how daringly spicy you like it! Carefully spoon the mostarda into the jars. Store it in the refrigerator, where it should keep for at least 6 months.