Home Canned Pears

One of the great blessings of living in Washington is the abundance of free fruit to be had.  Last week my sister stopped by with a box of pears from her pear tree.  They were super ripe and ready to eat.  Even with everyone in my house eating several pears a day, there was no way my family was going to get through the whole box before they went bad.  So that only left one option: Canning.

I've actually never canned pears before.  I've canned lots of other things, but not pears.  Fortunately inexperience never stops me.  In a thirty second conversation with my sister, I learned everything I need to know.
The conversation went something like this:

Me: How do I can pears?
Sister: Peel 'em, cut out the core, dip them in lemon juice, stuff 'em in a jar, fill it with water, add sugar if you want.
Me: How long do I boil them?
Sister: 25 minutes.
Me: Great, thanks.

So there you have it.  Now you can can pears too!

Right?

Or did I go too fast...?

Okay, in case you missed some of the steps, here they are again:

Get some pears.

Get some old jars and rings (rinsed in super hot water), and some new lids.

Get a giant canning pot,

with one of these jar holder things in it.

Peel the pears and cut out all the yucky inner and outer stuff. Slice them whatever size you want, then dip them in lemon juice.

Put them in a jar, fill the jar with water up to a half inch from the top, add a tsp. of sugar if you want (I always want sugar). Then wipe the rim of the jar clean with a paper towel. Put a new lid on it, and loosely screw a ring onto it. Then put in a pot of boiling water for 25 minutes. (This is seriously the only complicated step: you have to figure out how long to boil them at your altitude.  Luckily, here's a handy chart to tell you!)

After 25 minutes, set on the counter to cool. If the jar seals properly, the lid will "pop." The little bubble in the middle of the lid that normally pops up and down will be stuck down, and that's how you will know it is safely preserved.

Good luck!


Marcia