If you picked up a case of pears this past week, you are probably wanting to can them so you can enjoy them year round. You need to make sure you process them pretty quickly because you want them to be nice and green when you can them. Pears ripen pretty quickly and you don't want them to turn yellow before processing them. I was able to get 16 quart size jars from a 40 lb. case of pears. Here is a list of supplies you will need.
Supplies:
2 Stock Pot
Quart or Pint Size Jars
Sugar
Water
Vinegar
Salt
2 Bowls
Canning Supplies (funnel, jar tongs)
Cutting Board
Knife
The first thing you want to do is to set up your work space. You will need one stock pot to warm the jars and another stock pot to cook the pears.
Figure out how many jars your stock pot can hold and wash them. Once they have been washed place them in the stock pot and fill the pot with water. You will want to make sure you put some water in the jars to keep them from trying to float or flip over. Warm the jars on medium heat as you work on preparing the pears.
In the second stock pot begin creating the syrup. For a light syrup use 1 quart of water and 2 cups of sugar. If you want a medium syrup, use 1 quart of water and 3 cups of sugar. A heavy syrup will use 1 quart of water and 4 3/4 cup of sugar. Place the ingredients in the pot and begin warming on low heat, as you prep the pears.
As everything is warming up, fill a large bowl with a gallon of water. Add 2 tablespoons of salt and vingar to help prevent the fruit from darkening. As you core, peel, and cut the pears into quarters; place them in the solution while cutting the rest of the fruit. Do not soak the pears for more than 20 minutes.
In the second bowl, fill it half-way with cold water. This will be the bowl you rinse the fruit in before transferring to the stock pot with syrup. Begin peeling, coring, and cutting all the pears and put them in the salt and vinegar solution when done. Once you have filled the bowl with pears, transfer to the bowl with clean water, rinse, and begin putting them in the pot with syrup. Turn the heat to medium high. Once the pears have begun to boil, lower heat to medium and cook for 4-8 minutes.
When the pears are done, begin packing the jars with hot pears. This is called hot packing. If the pears and syrup are cold and the jars are hot, the jars will break due to the extreme change in temperature. Stuff as many pears as you can in each jar and then fill the rest of the jar with syrup. Leave 1/2" head space at the top of the jar, remove any air bubbles using a spatula or knife, and put the lid on. Place the jar back in the original stock pot and fill the rest of the jars. Once the jars are filled, fill the stock pot with hot water until the water rises above the jars. Turn up the heat to medium high. Once the water begins to boil slightly, set the timer for 25 minutes for quart size jars or 20 minutes for pint size jars.
When the jars have finished cooking, turn off the heat and take the jars out to cool off. As the jars cool, you will hear some popping. Don't let the popping scare you. The jars are sealing themselves due to the vaccum in the jar.
You might have to do a second batch of pears to finish filling your jars and/or make more syrup. If that is the case, fill the half-filled jar with some syrup while you cut up more pears. Turn down the heat of the syrup until you are able to transfer the pears to be cooked. Start the process of cooking and stuffing the pears into the jars until you have a pot full of stuffed jars. Once you have cooked and processed the pears, you will be able them throughout the year and not be concerned about the ingredients that were used to preserve them.
[ Read More ]
2 Stock Pot
Quart or Pint Size Jars
Sugar
Water
Vinegar
Salt
2 Bowls
Canning Supplies (funnel, jar tongs)
Cutting Board
Knife
The first thing you want to do is to set up your work space. You will need one stock pot to warm the jars and another stock pot to cook the pears.
Figure out how many jars your stock pot can hold and wash them. Once they have been washed place them in the stock pot and fill the pot with water. You will want to make sure you put some water in the jars to keep them from trying to float or flip over. Warm the jars on medium heat as you work on preparing the pears.
In the second stock pot begin creating the syrup. For a light syrup use 1 quart of water and 2 cups of sugar. If you want a medium syrup, use 1 quart of water and 3 cups of sugar. A heavy syrup will use 1 quart of water and 4 3/4 cup of sugar. Place the ingredients in the pot and begin warming on low heat, as you prep the pears.
As everything is warming up, fill a large bowl with a gallon of water. Add 2 tablespoons of salt and vingar to help prevent the fruit from darkening. As you core, peel, and cut the pears into quarters; place them in the solution while cutting the rest of the fruit. Do not soak the pears for more than 20 minutes.
In the second bowl, fill it half-way with cold water. This will be the bowl you rinse the fruit in before transferring to the stock pot with syrup. Begin peeling, coring, and cutting all the pears and put them in the salt and vinegar solution when done. Once you have filled the bowl with pears, transfer to the bowl with clean water, rinse, and begin putting them in the pot with syrup. Turn the heat to medium high. Once the pears have begun to boil, lower heat to medium and cook for 4-8 minutes.
When the pears are done, begin packing the jars with hot pears. This is called hot packing. If the pears and syrup are cold and the jars are hot, the jars will break due to the extreme change in temperature. Stuff as many pears as you can in each jar and then fill the rest of the jar with syrup. Leave 1/2" head space at the top of the jar, remove any air bubbles using a spatula or knife, and put the lid on. Place the jar back in the original stock pot and fill the rest of the jars. Once the jars are filled, fill the stock pot with hot water until the water rises above the jars. Turn up the heat to medium high. Once the water begins to boil slightly, set the timer for 25 minutes for quart size jars or 20 minutes for pint size jars.
When the jars have finished cooking, turn off the heat and take the jars out to cool off. As the jars cool, you will hear some popping. Don't let the popping scare you. The jars are sealing themselves due to the vaccum in the jar.
You might have to do a second batch of pears to finish filling your jars and/or make more syrup. If that is the case, fill the half-filled jar with some syrup while you cut up more pears. Turn down the heat of the syrup until you are able to transfer the pears to be cooked. Start the process of cooking and stuffing the pears into the jars until you have a pot full of stuffed jars. Once you have cooked and processed the pears, you will be able them throughout the year and not be concerned about the ingredients that were used to preserve them.
