Canning Pears Recipes

HOW TO CAN PEARS + SPICED PEAR CANNING RECIPE

Steps:

• Prepare your water bath canner (fill with water deep enough to cover the jars, place the wrack in it, and begin heating the water). Wash jars in hot soapy water, rinse, and place on a folded towel near the hot syrup and stove top.
• Peel pears by hand or using my super easy blanching method of 15 seconds in hot water, plunge into warm water, and peel. Keep peeled pears in a solution of lemon water (about 1/4 cup for a large bowl) to keep from turning brown.
• In a large stainless steel pot mix 5 and 3/4 cup water with 1 and 1/2 cups sugar, stir until sugar is dissolved and heat over medium low heat to almost a boil. Place the pears into the hot syrup in a single layer and let heat through for about 5 minutes.
• Fill your jar with 2 four inch cinnamon sticks & spices if using (wide mouth is the easiest to use for packing) then fill with the hot pear using a slotted spoon to a generous 1/2 inch head space. Then using a ladle and canning funnel, pour the hot syrup over the pears to a 1/2 inch head space. Remove air bubbles and double check your head spaced, adding more syrup if needed.
• Wipe the rim of the jar clean and place on lid and band. Tighten down to finger tip tight and place jar in the water bath canner.
• When you've filled the canner, make sure the surface of the water is at least 1 to 2 inches over the top of the jars and bring to a hard boil. Start the processing time after the water has reached a full boil and process 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts.*
• *Note: if you're 1,000 feet above sea level, increase processing time by 5 minutes.
• When jars have processed, turn off the heat and remove canner lid and leave jars in the canner for 5 minutes. Then remove jars onto a folded towel in a draft free area and let cool for 24 hours.

CANNING PEARS {PRESERVED PEARS}

Steps:

• Prepare your water bath canner by filling it with water. You just need to have enough water to cover the jars by 2 inches once the water is boiling.
• Set the canner on the stove. Turn the burner to high. Once it reaches a boil, reduce it to simmer. You want to keep the water hot so that everything is ready when the pears are.
• Wash and sanitize your jars. You'll want to keep them warm to avoid having them crack when placed in the canner. You can fill them with hot water, or place them on a tray in the oven at 170F.
• Wash your lids with hot soapy water and place them in a clean bowl for now.
• Fill a large bowl halfway with water and mix in 1/3 cup of bottled lemon juice.
• Cut the tops and bottoms off of the fruit.
• Using a vegetable peeler, peel off all the pear skins.
• After that, cut the pear in half from the top to the bottom.
• Take the paring knife and make a cut from the stem to the bottom on one side. Repeat on the other side, then jiggle the core out. Discard the core, and put the pear in the water with the lemon juice.
• When the bowl is getting full of skinned/cored pears, start the syrup. In a large pot, mix 1 cup of sugar per 6 cups of water and heat over medium.
• (Hot pack option) Once the syrup is boiling, add the pears one layer at a time (a canning term that means don't totally fill the pot) and heat for 5 minutes.
• (Hot pack option) Using a fork, grab the now softened pears one at a time, and put them cavity side down in the canning jar.
• (Raw pack option) use a fork and place pears cavity side down in the canning jar.
• Return the burner under the canner back to high to get the water back to a rolling boil.
• Using a canning funnel and a ladle, slowly pour the hot syrup into the jars until the pears are completely covered. Leave 1/2 inch of headspace. Headspace is defined as the space between the top of the food and the top of the jar.
• Remove the bubbles from the jar (I use a plastic chopstick).
• Use a wet clean rag and wipe the rim of the jars to make sure it is free of any food or syrup.
• Place a clean lid and ring on the jar and tighten the ring to fingertip tight.
• Using canning tongs, add jars to the boiling water, and put the canner lid on. Pro tip: you must have at least 2 inches of water over the tops of the jars for safe canning.
• Once your jars are completely covered with the boiling water, put the lid on and boil for 20 minutes (pints) or 25 minutes (quarts).
• Once your jars are starting to process, fill up your next 6-7 jars with hot pears, syrup, etc.
• When the time is up, remove the canner from heat, and let sit for 5 minutes.
• Remove the jars using canning tongs and place them on towels on the counter undisturbed for 12-24 hours.
• After everything has cooled, check the seal by pushing down on the middle of the lid. If it doesn't give way, it's sealed. If the lid bows a little bit, put that in the fridge and use it within 3 weeks.
• Label the sealed jars, and store in a cool dark place for up to a year.

CANNING PEARS

Steps:

• Prepare a water bath canner.
• Peel and halve pears.
• Core pears, using a small measuring spoon to scoop out the core.
• Slice if desired, or leave as halves.
• Place prepared pears in a bowl of cool water with a splash of lemon juice added to prevent browning while you work.
• Once pears are prepared, bring a pot with the canning liquid of your choice to a boil on the stove (see note on canning liquids).
• Add the pears and cook for 5 minutes, until the pears are fully heated through.
• Pack the pears into canning jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Ladle canning liquid over the top of the fruits maintaining a 1/2 inch headspace.
• De-bubble jars, do any final headspace adjustments, and then cap with 2 part canning lids.
• Process the jars in a water bath canner for 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts. (Recipe is written for a 7-quart canner batch below 1000 feet in elevation, see notes for other batch sizes and elevations.)
• Once the canning time is complete, remove the jars to cool on a towel on the counter. After 24 hours, check seals and store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator for immediate use.

HOW TO CAN PEARS WITHOUT SUGAR

Steps:

• Wash the pears and halve or quarter them. Remove spoiled spots. (You can peel them if you wish, but I didn't!)
• Allow the pears to soak for 2-3 minutes in a lemon juice bath. This helps to prevent discoloration. I mixed roughly 1/2 cup of lemon juice with 1 gallon of water, and then briefly washed/dipped the pears in the solution.
• Pack the pears into hot, sterilized jars.
• Cover the pears with boiling water, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
• Process in a boiling water canner: 25 minutes for pints, 30 minutes for quarts.
• Enjoy your home canned pears in homemade yogurt, oatmeal, or straight from the jar!

CANNING PEARS

Steps:

• Start by preparing jars and getting water in the canner heating. You want the canner hot, but not boiling, when the jars are ready to be processed.See full water bath canning instructions here.