"Puttin' Up Pears"

[jayste]

We've got an abundant supply this year and are going to put some up. Anyone have any canning directions for pears? Peel, slice, etc........

 

[Duffster]

I have never done pears but here are some directions.

National Center for Home Food Preservation | How Do I? Can Fruits

My sister makes sauce out of them and mixes it with apple sauce to can. Just an idea.

 

[Philbilly]

Yes, I do it every year, pretty simple if you like pear preserves. I base portions on using a 5 gal bucket, piled to the top with pears.
1. Peal pears and cut in bite size slices. Place in a non aluminum pan. Cover with 5 lbs sugar. More sugar if you want more syrup.
2. Let stand overnight is sugar (8 to 12 hrs).
3. In large thick pot add pears and sugar plus a cut up lemon or 2, no seeds.
4. Bring to a boil and cook over medium to low heat for desired texture, usually 3hrs. Stir often, they will stick to the bottom of the pot.
5. Fish out the lemon peals when they start getting thick.
6. Have jars ,lids and rings ready in boiling water. I use pints. Fill jars to 1/2 inch to top. Be careful not to get syrup on the rims of jars, if you do wipe it off. Seal jars hand tight.
7. Within the next hour or so you should hear each jar seal. Usually I end up with 18 Pints with a little left over.

Good Luck

 

[Bird]

The one way we always put up pears was to make Pear Honey. It seems that the recipes I find on the Internet all use "juice" and we never did that. This recipe is the closest I've found. Of course it calls for crushed pineapple "with syrup". We always drained the juice off the pineapple. Yep, it looks like a lot of very dry stuff in the pan, but as it cooks, it'll make it's own juice. All these recipes called for pears, peeled, cored, and "chopped". We never did any chopping. The pears were peeled and cored and ground up in a food grinder (as a kid we used the old meat grinder) or, in later years, simply run them through the grating blade of the food processor. The resulting pear honey is good on toast or biscuits for breakfast, a very good topping for ice cream, and when my mother used to bake 2 and 3 layer cakes, she'd put frosting (or icing) on the top and sides, but put a thick layer of pear honey between the layers.

 

[gotrocks]

Philbilly's reply looks like what my wife does.
I'd suggest you get a peeler, save time and fruit.
Our crop this year was also a BUMPER (make that a double BUMPER)
My lovely wife is selling 1/2 pints for $3.00 to raise "mission money" for the UMW. (United Methodist Women) She has already reached $300.
Here's ONE picking and a peeler.

 

[MossRoad]

Peel and core the pears.
Slice in halves, quarters, whatever you prefer.
Drop them in a large bowl filled with 1 gallon of water, 1tablespoon of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of salt. This will prevent browning.
Mix up a syrup of one gallon of water to 3 cups of sugar for light syrup, 4 cups of sugar for medium syrup or 5 cups of sugar for heavy syrup.
Bring the syrup to a boil.
Drain the pear pieces and put them in hot, sterile canning jars.
Ladle the hot syrup over the pears.
Leave 1/2 inch of headroom.
Put on a clean, sterile lid and tighten the band.
Put in a pressure canner for the time recommended in the canner book. I think ours is something like 15 minutes at X pressure (I cannot recall the pressure off the top of my head).

 

[Duffster]

Peel and core the pears.
Slice in halves, quarters, whatever you prefer.
Drop them in a large bowl filled with 1 gallon of water, 1tablespoon of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of salt. This will prevent browning.
Mix up a syrup of one gallon of water to 3 cups of sugar for light syrup, 4 cups of sugar for medium syrup or 5 cups of sugar for heavy syrup.
Bring the syrup to a boil.
Drain the pear pieces and put them in hot, sterile canning jars.
Ladle the hot syrup over the pears.
Leave 1/2 inch of headroom.
Put on a clean, sterile lid and tighten the band.
Put in a pressure canner for the time recommended in the canner book. I think ours is something like 15 minutes at X pressure (I cannot recall the pressure off the top of my head).

Just a little time saving tip. If you are going to process the jars for 10 minutes anyway you do not have to sterilize the jars. :thumbsup:

 

[MossRoad]

Just a little time saving tip. If you are going to process the jars for 10 minutes anyway you do not have to sterilize the jars. :thumbsup:

They sit in my basement when empty.... there are creeeeepy things down there and it just makes me feel better to sterilize them. :shocked:

:laughing:

 

[Duffster]

They sit in my basement when empty.... there are creeeeepy things down there and it just makes me feel better to sterilize them. :shocked:

:laughing:

Well I didn't say not wash them. :confused2::laughing:

 

[Chuck52]

A good dishwasher will have a "sterilize" option....doesn't actually sterilize, but they come out of mine hot enough that I have to use tongs to take them out.

Chuck

 

[czechsonofagun]

They are pretty good sliced and dehydrated, pears are. You don't even have to peel them.

 

[jayste]

Thanks guys for the responses. We should be picking them this weekend. I'll have to get picks like others do.:thumbsup:

 

[brin]

Thanks guys for the responses. We should be picking them this weekend. I'll have to get picks like others do.:thumbsup:

jaysite..you may want to try making pear chow...chow. We have some pear trees on our farm that are native to Georgia..they are not really good eating pears but they make great chow chow..Recipe below..

Just Fruit Recipes - recipe.)

 

[catfishdaddyengineering]

Bird,
My grandmother makes the pineapple version of pear honey and it is good, but I make mine with cinnamon and raisins. It has the consistency and look of apple butter or dark applesauce. It is GOOOOOOODDD!

 

[Bird]

Bird,
My grandmother makes the pineapple version of pear honey and it is good, but I make mine with cinnamon and raisins. It has the consistency and look of apple butter or dark applesauce. It is GOOOOOOODDD!

I haven't seen or heard of that recipe for pears, but it does sound good. I always liked apple butter more than apple sauce, and my mother used to make both, but I don't recall ever making any of either myself.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

One book every rural person should own is the Ball Blue Book. It's a collection of recipes and processing instructions for preserving just about anything.

 

[jayste]

Here's some pics of the harvest from this past Saturday. This is all from one tree and my inlaws had already picked about 9- 5gal buckets full. Also, a pic or two of my not-so-conventional ladder system. I survived it. It was complete with baling wire and load straps!:thumbsup: Now all we have to do is get to cannin'!

 

[Duffster]

Here's some pics of the harvest from this past Saturday. This is all from one tree and my inlaws had already picked about 9- 5gal buckets full. Also, a pic or two of my not-so-conventional ladder system. I survived it. It was complete with baling wire and load straps!:thumbsup: Now all we have to do is get to cannin'!

I like the ladder system. Looks like it works well.

 

[Duffster]

I guess Moss dropped the ball on being the canning police on this one. :laughing:

Yes, I do it every year, pretty simple if you like pear preserves. I base portions on using a 5 gal bucket, piled to the top with pears.
1. Peal pears and cut in bite size slices. Place in a non aluminum pan. Cover with 5 lbs sugar. More sugar if you want more syrup.
2. Let stand overnight is sugar (8 to 12 hrs).
3. In large thick pot add pears and sugar plus a cut up lemon or 2, no seeds.
4. Bring to a boil and cook over medium to low heat for desired texture, usually 3hrs. Stir often, they will stick to the bottom of the pot.
5. Fish out the lemon peals when they start getting thick.
6. Have jars ,lids and rings ready in boiling water. I use pints. Fill jars to 1/2 inch to top. Be careful not to get syrup on the rims of jars, if you do wipe it off. Seal jars hand tight.
7. Within the next hour or so you should hear each jar seal. Usually I end up with 18 Pints with a little left over.

Good Luck

This form of canning is no longer recommended. The product needs to be at least water bath canned for the appropriate amount of time. Just sayin.

 

[jayste]

I like the ladder system. Looks like it works well.

Thanks Duffster. It worked in a pinch. Took all of 5 min. to disassemble and turn back into a tractor and brushog!