Each year I highly anticipate the late summer arrival of the fresh pears to the farmers market. Fresh pears are a yearly ritual that signifies the slowing drifting away of summer as fall creeps in.
Many times I can go directly to the packing plant and order a case of fresh picked pears right off the line, If you can buy directly from the orchard makes a huge difference in flavor. Although I have found good pears in the grocery store, right when they come in and haven’t sat for too long on the produce shelf.
*You will need around a case of pears for up to 12 quart sized canning jars, so if you are doing less jars, simply get 1/2 a case, and any extra pears you can enjoy eating. I have found the pears more the merrier when canning pears, as there is quite a bit of waste during preparation, although my chickens really enjoy the scraps!
The beauty of canning your own pears is you can control the amount of sugar in the jars. I prefer a light sugar syrup vs the heavy syrup of commercial canned pears.
*Before you can start prepping the fruit, you want to prep jars, lids, and rings.
Fill your water bath canner with water, bring it to a boil, and add empty jars and lids to sterilize.
Once done remove.
I wash the jars and then keep them in a 180-degree oven to keep them warm until I use them, which helps the sugar dissolve. I wash the rings and lids and then keep them in a pot of simmering water until ready to use.
Start your tea kettle for the boiling water.
Wash the pears and cut off the top and the bottom
Peel the pears and cut them in half, and remove the core with a V cut. Cut out any brown spots and blemishes
*Soak the cut pears in a lemon water bath until ready to put into jars.
For light syrup, place 1/4 cup sugar in the bottom of a jar. Place the pear, cavity down into the bottom of the jar. Keep layering pears, cavity down until the jars is filled to the neck of the jar.
Pour the boiling water from the tea kettle into each jar leaving one half inch head space. Remove the air bubbles from the jar.
Place the jars in a water bath canner. Make sure the water covers the jars with an inch extra. Place the lid on the canner and bring to a boil. Once the pot is boiling….aka…rocking and rolling…let the jars process.
Pints take 30 minutes and quarts take 35 minutes unless you need to add time due to your altitude. Processing time will depend on your altitude.
When done remove them and set them on the counter, once you hear that lovely popping sound, you know they have a good seal and can be stored for a long time in your canning room.
Remember to wipe clean the rings of the jar before placing the lid on.
1/4 inch headspace is the ultimate goal when filling your jar.
*I like to lightly bang the jars on the counter when adding in the pears and liquid this helps get the
bubbles out, the dog hates this sound! You can also use a knife and push it into the jars swirling it around to release the bubbles.
After all this hard work the rewards are worth it! It may not feel like it after a day of standing in the hot kitchen canning, however believe me, there is nothing like popping open a can of pears in the dead of winter, when all you see is white outside, the freshness and flavor take you back to those long warm dog days of summer.
Enjoy!
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Fill your water bath canner with water, bring it to a boil, and add empty jars and lids to sterilize. Once done remove. I wash the jars and then keep them in a 180-degree oven to keep them warm until I use them, which helps the sugar dissolve. I wash the rings and lids and then keep them in a pot of simmering water until ready to use. Start your tea kettle for the boiling water for the syrup making.
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Wash the pears and cut off the top and the bottom Peel the pears and cut them in half, and remove the core with a V cut. Cut out any brown spots and blemishes For light syrup, place 1/4 cup sugar in the bottom of a jar. Soak the cut pears in a lemon water bath until ready to put into jars. Place the pear, cavity down into the bottom of the jar. Keep layering pears, cavity down until the jars is filled to the neck of the jar. Pour the boiling water from the tea kettle into each jar leaving one half inch head space. Remove the air bubbles from the jar.
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To prepare the syrup Type of Syrup Sweetener Amount of Sweetener Water Yield Very light Sugar 1 cup 6 cups 5 3/4 cups Light Sugar 2 1/4 cups 5 1/4 cups 6 1/2 cups Medium Sugar 3 1/4 cups 5 cups 7 cups Heavy Sugar 4 cups 5 cups 7 cups Honey Honey 1 cup 4 cups 4 1/4 cups
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Place the jars in a water bath canner. Make sure the water covers the jars with an inch extra. Place the lid on the canner and bring to a boil. Once the pot is boiling....aka...rocking and rolling...let the jars process. Pints take 30 minutes and quarts take 35 minutes unless you need to add time due to your altitude. Processing time will depend on your altitude. When done remove them and set them on the counter, once you hear that lovely popping sound, you know they have a good seal and can be stored for a long time in your canning room. Remember to wipe clean the rings of the jar before placing the lid on, 1/4 inch headspace is the ultimate goal when filling your jar.
Notes
CANNING SUPPLIES Check out this in-depth post for a complete list of canning supplies. Pears! You’ll need about 17 lbs per 7 quarts. At least two large bowls. You can never have enough bowls when canning. Large pot of water for blanching the fruit and a medium pot for syrup Canner: simple water bath canner, or even a huge stockpot with a rack in the bottom. Canning tongs/jar lifter Jars – quarts or pints. Lids and rings Wide mouth funnel Ice Bottled lemon juice or citric acid Vegetable peeler Sugar, honey, or juice Paring knife Chef’s knife Ladle Cutting board Metal spoon Butter knife or plastic chopstick Comfortable shoes. Don’t do this barefoot. Your back will hate you. Clean washcloths and at least one thick clean towel. HOW LONG DO YOU PROCESS PEARS IN A WATER BATH? Pears need to be in a water bath canner for 20 minutes for pint canning jars, and 25 minutes for quarts. RAW PACK FOR CANNING PEARS Raw packing pears simply means placing the peeled fruit in the jars without precooking them, filling the jars with syrup, and processing them in the canner. If you are preserving pears without additional added sugar (ex: sugar, honey, fruit juice), you must hot pack them. Raw packing pears is much faster than a hot pack process, but there are some drawbacks. No matter how well you pack the jars, the density of the fruit will change during their time in the canner. This often leads to something called “fruit float” in which the fruit will float to the top of the jar, leaving all syrup on the bottom. You’ll find this when you’re canning whole tomatoes as well. There is nothing wrong with fruit float as long as your jars are still sealed. As it is faster, I tend to do most of my canned fruit raw-packed. HOT PACK FOR CANNING PEARS Hot packing involves cooking them briefly in hot syrup before packing the fruit into jars for canning. You’ll want to boil them in the canning syrup for about 5 minutes and then add them to your jars, ladling the hot syrup over the top. The benefits of hot packing are that you typically can fit more fruit per jar, and the near elimination of fruit float.
