Canning Pears Photo Tutorial

The process of canning pears was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. It would have been faster with a friend to help with the peeling, but as it was, it took just an hour to prepare the fruit for canning.

First, peel the fruit. Using a veggie peeler worked the best for me. Then cut the pears in half.



The cores are simple to remove with a spoon. I was so happy to see the pear half look just like what commercially canned fruit look like! I am easily amused.



Have a large bowl available half filled with salted water. I don't measure the salt. It might be a tablespoon or so. When the fruit is cored, soak it in the salted water. This keeps it from turning brown.



Make a sugar syrup to cover the pears with in the jars. You can make light, medium, heavy or extra heavy, using different proportions of sugar to water. I use a light or medium syrup for my fruits. You can also cover pears with commercial white grape juice or apple juice. I haven't done that, though.



Rinse the pears well to remove all the salt water. Pack pear slices into jars as tightly as you can. I fit 10 halves into each quart jar. When I do them again, I will force in two more, since I had a little room in the jars after they cooked. I will also use wide mouth jars rather than regular. Cover with your prepared syrup and remove any trapped air with a rubber spatula or other tool. I use a chopstick.



Can quarts of pears in a boiling water bath for 25 minutes (at 0-1000 ft. Adjust time for your elevation). Pints will need 20 minutes. Remove to a towel overnight to cool and seal. Wash the jars in the morning, since they will probably be sticky. You don't want to attract ants!