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How to Make Homemade Canned PearsClick here for a PDF print version!
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 PearsIngredients and Equipment
Recipe and DirectionsStep 1 - Selecting the pears
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| Syrup | Sugar | Water | Yield |
| Light | 2 cups | 6 cups | 7 cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium | 3 cups | 6 cups | 6 1/2 cups |
| Heavy | 4 cups | 6 cups | 7 cups |
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).
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.
I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the pears in plain cold or lukewarm water
Cut out any brown spots and mushy areas. Cut the pears in half, or quarters or slices, as you prefer! Remove pits!
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. "
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!)
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.
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.
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).
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Water Bath Times. Recommended process time for Pears, halved or sliced in a boiling-water canner, using a hot pack in pints or quart jars. |
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| Process Time at Altitudes of | ||||
| Jar size | 0 - 1,000 ft | 1,001 - 3,000 ft | 3,001 - 6,000 ft | Above 6,000 ft |
| pints |
20 min | 25 | 30 | 35 |
| quarts | 25 min | 30 | 35 | 40 |
Pressure Canning: Processing directions for canning pears in a dial, or a weighted-gauge canner are given in Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3.
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Table 2. Process Times for Pears, halved or sliced in a Dial-Gauge Pressure Canner. |
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| Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of | ||||||
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | Process Time | 0 - 2,000 ft | 2,001 - 4,000 ft | 4,001 - 6,000 ft | 6,001 - 8,000 ft |
| Hot | Pints or Quarts | 10 minutes | 6 psi | 7 psi | 8 psi | 9 psi |
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Table 3.
Process Times for Halved or sliced Pears in
a Weighted-Gauge Pressure Canner. |
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| Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of | |||
| Jar Size | Process Time (Min) | 0 - 1,000 ft | Above 1,000 ft |
| Pints or Quarts | 10 | 5 | 10 |
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 s
ealed. 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.
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With the Deluxe Food Strainer/Sauce Maker, you can make
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This page was updated on 7-Nov-2009
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