This year, my pear trees have finally produced more than one pear each. This has left me with a bit of a dilemma – what to do with them before they go off.

I had most of a litre bottle of vodka in the cupboard which has been there for almost a year, so thanks to a recipe from Abel & Cole (https://www.abelandcole.co.uk/recipes/pear-vanilla-infused-vodka), I’ve decided to combine the two and make pear liqueur.

6 (or so) pears, sliced. You don’t need to peel or core them.

1 bottle of vodka

Half a vanilla pod (I used a couple of drops of vanilla essence, so fingers crossed this works just as well)

4 tablespoons of sugar.

Add the sliced pears to a big mason jar, pop in the vanilla pod (or essence).

Fill up with vodka, making sure the pears are covered.

Add the sugar

Seal the jar, give it a swirl to dissolve the sugar and keep in a cool dark place for a couple of weeks. Decant into smaller bottles.

I’m guessing that if the pears haven’t disintegrated they might be rather nice with ice cream for a slightly boozy pudding…