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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