How to Make Homemade Canned Pears

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It's easy to can your own pears! Here's how to do it, complete instructions in easy steps and completely illustrated. In the winter when you open a jar, the pears will taste MUCH better than anything you've ever had from a store, and by selecting the right fruit, it will use less sugar than store-bought canned pears. Pears, plums, cherries or nectarines can be packed in very light, light or medium sugar syrup. They can also be packed in water, apple juice or white grape juice.

Prepared this way, the jars have a shelf life of about 12 to 18 months, and aside from storing in a cool, dark place, require no special attention.

You might also be interested in making pear butter!

Directions for Making Canned Pears

Ingredients and Equipment

Recipe and Directions

Step 1 - Selecting the pears

The most important step!  You need pears that are sweet, and ripe.  A little known fact: Pears are picked unripe - they don't ripen well on the tree. So, unlike peaches, pears WILL ripen at home! Proper ripeness of pears at canning time is important to the quality
of the product; as it affects color, flavor, aroma, and over-all quality of finished product

Choose ripe, mature fruit of ideal quality for eating fresh or cooking. They should not be mushy, but they also should not be rock hard: just as ripe as you would eat them fresh.

The most popular variety is Bartlett pears, typically available the first two weeks in September in many areas.  Orcas and El Dorado are also varieties commonly used for canning. See the FAQ. If they are to be transported or not processed immediately, pick while slightly green and allow them to ripen in a cool, dark place.

Step 2 - How many pears and where to get them

An average of 17½ pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 11 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel weighs 50 pounds and yields 16 to 25 quarts – an average of 2½ pounds per quart.   A pound of pears yields 2 cups of sliced pears.

You can pick your own, or buy them at the grocery store.  But for large quantities, you'll find that real* farmer's markets, like the Farmer's Market in Forest Park, Georgia have them at the best prices. 

* - not the cutesy, fake farmer's markets that are just warehouse grocery stores that call themselves farmer's markets.

Step 3 - Prepare the sugar (or other sweetener) solution

Pears must be packed in a solution of water and sugar or fruit juice.  It's up to you which to use.  Sugar is added to improve flavor, help stabilize color, and retain the shape of the fruit. It is not added as a preservative. Sugar solution is much less expensive (unless you have a supply of cheap grape juice), so I usually use a light solution to keep sugar (and the added calories) to a minimum.

To prepare syrup, while heating water, add sugar slowly, stirring constantly to dissolve. Bring to a gentle boil. Fill jars while syrup is still boiling hot. After preparing the liquid syrup, keep it hot (but not boiling).

Step 4 - Wash the jars and lids

This is a good time to get the jars ready! The dishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sterilize" cycle. Otherwise put the jars in boiling water for 10 minutes. I just put the lids in a small pot of almost boiling water for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" (available from target, other big box stores, and often grocery stores; and available online - see this page) to pull them out.

Step 5 -Wash the pears!

I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the pears in plain cold or lukewarm water

Step 6 - Peel and cut up the pears

Cut out any brown spots and mushy areas. Cut the pears in half, or quarters or slices, as you prefer! Remove pits!

Step 7 - Prevent the fruit from darkening!

Now, to keep the fruit from turning brown, when you get a bowlful, sprinkle 1/4 cup lemon juice or Fruit-Fresh (which is just a mix of citric acid and vitamin C, perfectly natural).  Then stir the pears to make sure all the surfaces have been coated.

Here's a tip from another visitor.  I haven't tried it yet, but it's worth a try, if you are having problems with pears turning pink:

"I just canned them last week and the water bath produced nice white pears, but the pressure canner turned them pink. I had never seen that before, glad to see from your instructions that the pears are ok. Suggestion for keeping pears from turning brown from an old Farm Journal Freezing and Canning cookbook: After pealing, coring, etc. the pears, drop them in a solution of 2 tblsp. each of salt and vinegar to 1 gal. water. Drain before packing jars or putting into syrup for hot pack. Used this method many times and always produced nice pears. Thanks again for the information. " 

Step 8 - For a Hot Pack

Hot packing is recommended for all fruits because it is a bit safer and makes fruit easier to pack in jars. Raw packs also make poor quality pears.  Hot packed pears are less likely to float than pears canned by the raw-pack method. Just put the cut pears into the boiling syrup solution for 5 minutes. (If you want to use the "cold pack" or "raw pack" method, just skip this step!)

Step 9 - Fill the jars

Pack the pears into sterilized jars (leaving 1/2 inch space at the top) and cover with boiling sugar syrup leaving 1/2 inch head space. (If you don't cook or heat the pears first, this is called "cold packing"). Run a rubber spatula or table knife gently between pears and jar to release trapped air bubbles. To do this more effectively, tilt the jar slightly while running the tool between the fruit and the edge of the jar and also pressing inward against the fruit a few times.

After packing the pears in the jar, pour the sugar solution up to 1/2 inch (1 cm) from the top.  the fruit should be covered completely. Wipe rim and screw threads with a clean damp cloth. Add lid, screw band and tighten firmly and evenly. Do not over tighten.

Tips!

Canned fruits often will float if the sugar syrup is too heavy, if jars are packed too loosely or if air remains in the tissues of the fruit after processing. To avoid this use a light or medium sugar syrup, make sure fruit is firm and ripe and pack fruit tightly in jars without crushing.

If fruit is not covered by liquid it may darken during storage (but does not necessarily mean it is spoiled, as all fruits will darken somewhat). To avoid this be sure fruit is covered by remove air bubbles from jars liquid while still leaving the recommended head space. Also be sure to remove trapped air bubbles as described earlier.

Pears and apples may also show a blue, red or pink color change after canning. This is the result of natural chemical changes that sometimes occur as fruits are heated. It is harmless and won't affect flavor!

Also, avoid storing canned food near heat sources such as a furnace, water heater, hot water or sunny areas. Jars need to be kept cool and dark for longer storage life and to protect against spoilage. Be sure to store in a dry place. If the lid or band rusts, that can cause the seal to break.

Step 11 - Process the jars in the water bath (or pressure canner)

You can "can" pears in either a water bath or pressure canner.

Water bath canner: Put the sealed jars in the canner and keep them cover with at least 1 inch of water and boiling. Boil them for at least 20 minutes (and no more than 30 min).

Step 12 - Remove and cool

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight), here they won't be bumped. You can then remove the rings if you like. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok.

Canned pears and pear nectar will maintain quality best when stored up to 66 months at 40/F, 40 months at 70/F, or 15 months at 90/F.

If you'd rather dry or freeze pears, let me know; I'm working on those directions. Dried pears can be stored up to 24 months at 40/F, 3 months at 70/F, or 1 month at 90/F. Well packaged frozen pears will keep up to 18 months. 

Other Equipment:

From left to right:

1. Jar lifting tongs 
           helpful to pick up hot jars
2. Lid lifter 
           - to remove lids from the pot 
           of hot water 
3. Lid 
          - disposable - you may only 
          use them once
4. Ring 
         - holds the lids on the jar until after
         the jars cool - then you don't need them
5. Canning jar funnel
         - to fill the jars

Frequently asked questions!

1. Is it safe to can unpeeled pears? I've spent hours on websites and read several books on canning - to no avail. This is the second year I've canned unpeeled pears in a 5 to 1 water to sugar syrup (we're still alive). All my friends, their mothers and everything I've read says to peel and I'm beginning to buckle under all the finger wagging!!! 
   
   Answer: Buckle not! It is perfectly safe to can pears with the skins on! 
   
   
2. My pears, once finished with all the processing and cooled in the jars - seem to have lost their shape.  They are flat pears, no nice curved shape that I started with. They almost seemed to have been over cooked, and not nice firm fruit any more. Any suggestions please
   
   Answer: Aside from possibly overcooking, the most likely reason is the variety of pear.  Some varieties hold up better to the heat and canning than others.  The firmer / harder fleshed types work better, but you may sacrifice some flavor or sweetness of the softer types.  Here is a guide to the varities that are considered best for home canning:
   Bartlett - Popular pear for canning and fresh fruit. The fruit normally large with a smooth and attractive appearance.  Flavor is considered to be tender, juicy, buttery and of high dessert quality. Ripens in most areas in late August to early September.  
   Orcas - Yellow fruit with light red blush.  Large, flavorful pear, good for fresh eating, canning, or drying.  Ripens in most areas in early September.  
   El Dorado - Medium to large fruit, with a lumpy surface. It is yellow-green even when ripe.  el Dorado has a very long storage life, keeps until January-February. The quality is very good to excellent, considered sweet, smooth, melting. Ripens in most areas in mid-October.   

    

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This page was updated on 7-Nov-2009

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