Canning Pears for Food Storage

5 from 1 vote

Canning Pears for Food Storage

Canning pears are the perfect way to preserve them at their peak to enjoy all year. Home canned pears are great to have on the shelf to use in baked goods, salads, stirred into oatmeal and yogurt, or enjoyed straight from the jar.

Prep Time25

Cook Time5

Canning Time20

Total Time50

Course: Pantry

Cuisine: American

Keyword: canning pears

Servings: servings

Calories: 95kcal

Author: Grow a Good Life

Ingredients

11 pounds pears
6 1/2 cups water
3/4 cups sugar
1 lemon or 1/2 cup lemon juice

Instructions

Prepare the canning equipment:

Wash your jars, lids, screw bands, and canning tools in hot soapy water. Rinse thoroughly to remove all suds. Set aside to air dry on a clean kitchen towel.
Place the canning rack into water bath canner, place jars in the canner, and add water to cover. Bring the canner to a simmer (180˚F) for 10 minutes, and keep hot until you are ready to fill them.

Make the syrup:

Add the sugar and water to the large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat to dissolve sugar.

Prepare the pears:

To prevent browning, dip the peeled and sliced pears into a lemon water bath as you work. Fill a large bowl with about a gallon of cold water and 1/2 cup of lemon juice (or use Fruit Fresh and follow the instructions on the bottle).
Wash the pears well under clean, running water. Peel, core, and cut the pears into halves, quarters, or slices. Add the pear pieces to the prepared lemon bath as you work.
Drain the pears and add them to the sugar-syrup pot. Cover the pot, raise the heat, and bring the pot to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and fill the jars.

Can the pears:

Spread a kitchen towel on the counter. Use your jar lifter to remove a jar from the canner, drain, and place on the towel. Keep the remaining jars in the canner so they stay hot.
Use your canning funnel and ladle, to fill the warm jar with hot pears and top off with the syrup leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
Run you bubble popper through the pears to release air bubbles.
Wipe the rim with a clean, damp towel. Place the lid on gasket side down. Screw the metal band down fingertip tight. Place the jar back into the canner, and repeat with the remaining jars. Try to leave some space in between the jars.
Once all the jars are in canner, adjust the water level to two inches above the tops.
Cover the canner and bring to boil over high heat. Once water boils vigorously, process pints for 20 minutes at altitudes of less than 1,000 ft. Adjust processing time for your altitude if necessary (see notes below).
When processing time is complete, turn off the heat and allow the canner to cool down and settle for about 5 minutes.
Spread a kitchen towel on the counter; remove the cover by tilting lid away from you so that steam does not burn your face.
Use the jar lifter to lift jars carefully from canner and place on the towel. Keep the jars upright, and don't tighten bands or check the seals yet. Let the jars sit undisturbed for 12 to 24-hours to cool.
After the jars have cooled for at least 12 hours, check to be sure lids have sealed by pushing on the center of the lid. The lid should not pop up. If the lid flexes up and down, it did not seal. Refrigerate and use within a few days.
Remove the screw on bands and wash the jars. Label, date, and store your jars in a cool, dark place. Use within 12 to 18 months. Yields about 9 pint jars of pears.

Notes

This recipe is for canning pint jars of pears. If you are canning quarts, you will need about 17 1/2 pounds of pears for a full canner load of 7 quarts. Increase the processing time to 25 minutes at altitudes of less than 1,000 ft. (see altitude adjustment below)

Syrup for Canning in Quart Jars:

Very Light = 10 1/2 cups water and 1 1/4 cups sugar
Light = 9 cups water and 2 1/4 cups sugar
Medium = 8 1/4 cups sugar and 3 3/4 cups sugar
Heavy = 7 3/4 cups sugar and 5 1/4 cups sugar
Light Honey = 11 cups water and 1 cup honey

This is a tested safe canning recipe from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning. Changing the recipe may make the product unsafe.

All times are at altitudes of less than 1,000 ft. Adjustments must be made for altitudes greater than 1,000 ft:

Pints at altitudes of 1,001 - 3,000 ft. is 25 minutes, 3,001 - 6,000 ft. is 30 minutes, and above 6,000 feet is 35 minutes.
Quarts at altitudes of 1,001 - 3,000 ft. is 30 minutes, 3,001 - 6,000 ft. is 35 minutes, and above 6,000 feet is 40 minutes.

I am happy to answer any questions, but if you need immediate canning help or answers, please contact your local extension office.

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