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September 19, 2011

Tips on How to Can Pears

Well I finally did it.  I tried canning for the first time ever.  And you know what?  It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.  Canning 14 jars of pears only took about two hours from start to finish.

My parents have a pear tree at their house and tons of pears that were ready for harvest, so she and my Dad and 20 pounds of pears made their way to my house a few mornings ago.  I remember growing up, my Mom would can peaches every year, it was nice to have her here with me to make sure all went smoothly.















I bought some supplies; a guide to canning book by Ball, jars, boiling water canning pot, jar lifter and sugar.
















My Mom and I got busy peeling, coring and slicing pears.  Mom does things old school and uses a paring knife for everything.















I, on the other hand use a vegetable peeler,















and a melon baller to core the pears.
















We ended up with two bowls of sliced pears.















Then I made a light syrup to heat the pear slices before adding them to the jars.  {see below} It only takes about 2-3 minutes to heat the pears through in an already simmering syrup.















Here's where you'll have to use your imagination, I don't have pictures.  Lift the pear slices by the spoonful and place into warmed jars....I warmed my jars and lids in my dishwasher by running them through a cycle with a heated dry.  After packing the pears into the jars, fill the jars with the extra light syrup to about 1/2 inch from the rim, remove air bubbles.  Clean the rim of the jar with a clean, damp cloth and place the two part lid on, hand tight.

While filling your jars, make sure you have water boiling {or almost boiling} in the water canning pot.  Place the jars on the rack and make sure the water level is one to two inches above the jar lids.  Bring to a rolling boil, cover with lid and boil for 20 minutes {for pint size}.

















Turn off the flame after 20 minutes and allow the jars to cool in the pot for 5 minutes.  Lift the jars out and place on a clean towel on counter to let cool.















Hopefully you'll begin to hear all the lids popping to ensure a vacuum seal.  This can take up to 24 hours but all of mine popped within the hour of removing them from the water.

Label with a date and you're done!  I think I'll use some of these for a pie in the future.  Doesn't that sound good?!

I'm moving on to jam next!  Can't wait!

What do you like to can?

Supplies and Ingredients:
Boiling Water Canning Pot
Jar Lifter
Bubble remover
Sugar
2-3 pounds of Pears per quart
water

Directions:
Wash pears and drain.  Peel skin, core and cut into halves or slices.  Make a light syrup and keep syrup hot on stovetop.  Cook pears one layer at a time in the syrup until they are hot throughout.  Pack hot pears into jars, leaving about 1/2 inch headspace.  Ladle hot syrup over the pears, leaving about 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles, I used a butter knife. Clean the rims of the jars with a clean, damp cloth and place the two part caps on, hand tight.  For quarts, boil jars for 25 minutes, covered with one to two inches of water over the lids.  {for pints-20 minutes}

Turn heat off after boiling and let stand in pot for 5 minutes before removing with a jar lifter.  Place on clean towel and allow to cool for 24 hours.  All lids should have 'popped'.

Prep of Jars:
All jars and lids should be hot before canning.  I just threw mine in the dishwasher with a heated dry at the end and that seemed to work perfectly.  But you can also warm the jars and lids on the stovetop in a suace pan and stock pot as well.

Extra Light Syrup:
1 1/4 cups sugar and 5 1/2 cups water - heat on stovetop and keep warm on low.


Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to leave a comment. I love to hear from you! Have a fantastic day!



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9 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

hi, nancy's mom!!! :)

love pears. yum! good for you!

Kristi said...

It's so funny you mention that about your mom having to use a paring knife. My mom was just visiting and we canned a bunch of applesauce and apple butter. She insisted on the paring knife as well, even though I got mine done twice as fast with my vegetable peeler and apple wedger! To each his own I guess--but it was definitely nice to have her here to help. And fun!!! And you just feel so good when you stand back and look at what you did!

Michelle said...

This is something I have been meaning to do and we have pear trees on our farm. So many are eaten fresh and my husband uses them at a food plot for hunting.

Sarah said...

I canned for the first time this year too!! I made grape jam but it was way too sweet - I bought the lite pectin for next time. I think I am going to try peaches or pears.

It looks like you did a great job! Lots of pears to enjoy during the winter - and the pie sounds great!

Sarah from The House That Ag Built

Ott, A said...

Yea! So glad you canned and that it worked for you. Now just think how great these are going to taste this winter. Can't wait to see what jam you make!!!!

Anonymous said...

I knew nothing about canning when I started about 6 yrs ago. The "Ball Blue Book" and "Putting Food By" were my canning bibles.

Your pears look so yummy I may have to try canning some!

Pat Tillett said...

Although I ate a great deal of home canned food as a kid, I've been weary of it. Maybe that's a statement about how much I don't trust my friends...

Jeannelle said...

Excellent canning tutorial here! I may forward this on to my daughter who wants to learn to can. I ordered a Ball Blue Book for her recently. I had never thought of warming the jars and lids in the dishwasher....good idea!

Teresa said...

The pears look great!