Got Pears? Canning Tips

Don't those look good? Yep, in spite of the spaghetti sauce disaster we're still canning like crazy around here. Here are some tips for canning pears in case you've got a few extra on your hands like we do...

A few things to consider are:

• Always can ripe, mature fruit. If they taste bad fresh, they won't taste any better canned - in fact probably a lot worse.
• An average of 17-1/2 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 11 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel weighs 50 pounds and yields 16 to 25 quarts—an average of 2-1/2 pounds per quart.

Here's how I can pears. You can find the source here:

Pears - halved

Procedure: Wash and peal pears. Cut lengthwise in halves and remove core. To prevent discoloration, keep pears in an ascorbic acid solution (I use a dissolved 500 mg vitamin C tablet per gallon of water). Prepare fruit syrup. For a quart load I use 3-4 Cups of sugar to 8 cups of water. Or pack pears in water, apple juice, or white grape juice. They are not very good in water because the sugar in the pears leaks out into the water so you are left with not very sweet pears.

Hot pack Method (Raw packs make poor quality pears): In a large saucepan place drained fruit in syrup, water, or juice and bring to boil. Boil for about 5 minutes. Fill jars with hot fruit and cooking liquid, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Place halves in layers, cut side down. Adjust lids and process according to times below (based on your current elevation).

Processing Times:
Hot Pints
20 min (0-1,000 ft) 25 min (1,001-3,000 ft)
30 min (3,001-6,000 ft) 35 min (Above 6,000 ft)
Hot Quarts
25 min (0-1,000 ft) 30 min (1,001-3,000 ft)
35 min (3,001-6,000 ft) 40 min (Above 6,000 ft)