Canning The Pears For Storage
Pears are delicious and healthy, and they can be had in so many ways – whole, pureed, or mashed. Pears also accompany yogurt and salads well. You must be buying pears from the market or harvesting them in your kitchen garden. But pears are not available all year round.
Have you ever thought of storing the pears for longer? Can you store pears for later use? Yes, you can preserve the pears for longer. But how? Well, you can store pears by freezing or canning. While freezing pears might seem hectic and last for about 6 months, canning does the storage better.
Canning pear is the best way to preserve them and this way you can enjoy the fruit savory all year long. Canned pears also last for about 12-18 months when stored properly. You can use canned pears both raw and for cooking other recipes.
You must be wondering how to begin the process of canning the pears, right? We have a detailed section of the important points that you need to know before home canning your pears. Read on to find out more about canning pears!
Canning Supplies To Preserve Pears
The canning supplies you choose for canning foods are crucial because different kinds of foods need to undergo different canning processes. You need specific canning supplies, especially the canner to can the pears. Check out the detailed list of all the required canning supplies below.
- Two large pots or saucepans.
- A water bath canner for canning the pears.
- Canning jars (pints or quarts), lids, and bands.
- A wide-mouth funnel, and ladle.
- A jar lifter or tongs.
- Knife and clean towels.
Best Pears For Canning
Pears are available in different varieties on the market. You must have noticed the varying colors of the pears. They also vary in size. And the good news is, you can preserve all types of pears by canning. The factors that you need to look for canning the pears are discussed below.
Select subtly underripe, but mature pears that are fresh and unblemished. Ensure the pear you choose is ideal for cooking and consuming. Firmer pears are less likely to become mushy after canning and stand up better to the canning process.
Bartlett pears are the best for canning among all the other varieties of pears. Some pears such as Asian pears require an additional splash of lemon juice or another citric acid for preservation. The pears might become a little mushy after canning, but they will still be safe for consumption.
Water Bath Canner Method
The water bath canner method is a beginner-friendly way of canning fruits and other food items easily at home. This is most commonly used for high-acid foods. The water bath canning method can be completed within 10-30 minutes, depending on the food you are canning.
Pears can be canned using this method. Pears may not be acidic, but while canning the pears you need to add lemon juice or any citric acid, which turns them acidic, and therefore makes them suitable for the water bath canner.
Steps For Canning Pears
Pears need to be peeled, sliced, packed into heated canning jars with a preserving liquid, and processed in a boiling water bath canner for canning. Well, it is easy but needs to be done carefully, otherwise, you might end up ruining your pears before canning them.
Also, the steps for canning pears include other important details that cannot be missed. Check out the process of canning the pears in a water bath canner below.
Prepare The Canning Jars And Other Supplies
You have already gathered all the required canning supplies and your kitchen tools in one place. Now, the very first thing you should do is check the jars for cracks and nicks. If all the jars are crack-free, place them in a pot of hot soapy water for thorough cleaning. You can put the jars, canning lids, and bands in the same water.
This will sterilize the jars and prevent bacterial growth in the canned pears. After about 10 minutes remove the jars and drain them. Next, place them on the counter or a towel and let the jars and other supplies air dry.
Make The Syrup For Filling The Jars
If you want to preserve the pears in sugar syrup, then pour water and sugar into a large pot and bring it to a boil for preparing the sugar syrup. After the sugar dissolves completely in the water, lower the heat and keep it warm.
If you do not want sugar syrup, you can simply add regular honey or any other fruit juice or pear juice. However, if you have concentrated fruit juice at home, it would be best if you dilute them in water and bring it to a boil.
Prepare The Pears
Take the pears and place them under running water to get rid of any dirt or soil. Take a sharp knife to remove the core and peel the pears adequately. Now, you can either cut them into slices or halves, it depends on how you want to preserve them.
Once the pears are cut, soak them in a lemon water bath for about 5 minutes. Use one cup lemon juice for the purpose. This will prevent the fruit from browning and help them retain their freshness for longer upon canning. You can also use bottled lemon water for the purpose.
Fill The jars
Wipe the jars of all the extra water carefully with a damp towel and fill the pears. You can also use the funnel to pour the pears into the jars. Do not use your hand to pick the pears, use a ladle to fill the jars. Next, pour the preserving liquid that you have prepared.
Do not fill the jars completely, leave a headspace of about 1 inch. Once you are done filling the jars, immediately close the lids and tie the bands tightly. This will seal the pears inside the canning jars before you process them in a water bath canner.
Boiling Water Bath In The Canner
Fill the water bath canner with water and set it to boil. Take the tongs or jar lifter and submerge the canning jars with pears in the hot water. They will need about 20-25 minutes canning time in the canner. The canning process will create pressure and seal the jars more effectively.
After the water bath canning is complete, use a jar lifter and remove the jars from the water. Set them aside for cooling. Once, they have cooled completely, store them in a cool and dry place. And your pears are ready to be canned.
Tips For Canning Pears
Now that you know how to can pears for food storage, check out the below-mentioned tips for amazing results.
- Always use fresh and slightly underripe pears for canning. While you can also use adequately ripe pears, slightly underripe will perform better upon canning.
- You can store pears in any preserving liquid including water, so you do not need to worry about canning pears.
- Pears are harvested under-ripe. But you can ripen them at your home by keeping them at normal room temperature for about 4-7 days.
- Choose smaller pears for canning as it will be easier to store them in pint-size or quart-size jars without slicing them.
- While canning the pears, make sure you prepare each batch with only the required amounts of preserving water to keep the nutrition intact.
- You can add cinnamon or 1/2 tablespoon of whole allspice to your canning pears just before sealing the jars. This will enhance the flavor of the pears.
Canning Pears Without Sugar
Canning pears need to be done in syrup or any other preserving liquid because otherwise, the canning process will not be fulfilled. The process of canning fruits most commonly uses sugar syrup as the preserving liquid. However, you can also preserve pears without sugar.
Using sugar syrup for canning pears or other fruits is the traditional way of canning, but not the only way. Sugar is sweet and therefore added in the preservation process because sweet food retains longer, tastes better, and maintains a vibrant, fresh color upon canning.
The pears already contain sufficient natural sugar, so they can be canned without sugar. It will be totally safe to can pears without sugar. However, canned pears might change their color slightly without sugar, but the flavor will remain intact.
Canning Pears With Honey Or Fruit Juice
You can preserve pears with honey or fruit juice if you want to eliminate the sugar. It will be perfectly fine to store the pears for longer. However, the honey might lose some of its beneficial properties upon heating, but that will not affect the canned pears.
On the other hand, fruit juice is another alternative to preserve pears. You will need about 48 ounces of liquid for every 4 pounds of pears while canning. You can use any type of fruit juice- apple juice, white grape juice, or pear juice to preserve the pears in canning jars.
Summing it up, that was the recipe for canning the pears for preservation. Remember to use the water bath canner carefully and not overcook the jars of pears in the water, as this might degrade the fruit quality. Also, the pears might turn slightly mushy upon canning, but that will not alter the flavor. Canning is a great way to keep the freshness and flavor of the pears intact.