Country Enterprise - Grow pears for perry, chutney, jam and wine. locally grown apricots and figs fetch a higher price

<P> Pears are something that we would like to have more of. </P><P>We have elderly trees that try their best but produce nothing of any real consequence. As we live in a fruit-producing district, we can buy pears very cheaply and turn them into chutney and wine. Although pears do make jam there never seems to be much demand for it. Perry used to be as widely made as cider in some districts and it is very light and delicate. </P><P>Some orchards contain cherries and if you can get them before the birds, fresh cherries sell well almost every year. Cherry jam and chutneys are delicious: they sell well in specialist shops, but you must take the stones out. We turned pounds of beautiful dark red cherries into sweet chutney with peaches. We were thrilled to receive a letter of praise from a lady who lived hundreds of miles away who had bought a pot on holiday and taken it home. We were quite horrified, however, to learn that she had cracked a tooth on a stone. Although every effort had been made to remove them one had popped into her pot. This delightful person was not writing to complain or to claim her dentist's bills. She just thought that we might like to know for the next time. We have never felt quite committed about using cherries after that. </P><P>Figs, apricots and other specialities can grow in some parts of Britain. All the different kinds of produce - jams, chutneys, wines and so on — can be used for these fruits although probably as they are something of a rarity growing in profusion in Britain, you would do as well to sell them locally, making sure that the public realises that they are locally grown and not imported. </P><P> <A HREF=orchard3.htm>pears</A></P>