Michigan Fresh: Using, Storing, and Preserving Pears (HNI22)
DOWNLOAD FILEOctober 2, 2014 - Author: Laurie Messing
Recommended varieties
Bartlett, Moonglow and Clapp’s Favorite are excellent for canning.
Food safety and storage
- Purchase fruits that are not bruised or damaged.
- Wash hands before and after handling fresh produce.
- Keep away from raw meat and meat juices to prevent cross–contamination.
- For best quality and to preserve nutrients, preserve no more than your family can consume in one year.
Yield
| 1 pound | = | 2 cups sliced |
| 11 pounds | = | a canner load of 9 pints |
| 17 1/2 pounds | = | a canner load of 7 quarts |
| 1 bushel (50 pounds) | = | 40 to 50 pints frozen 16 to 25 quarts canned |
How to Preserve
Canning
Pears, halved
Wash and peel pears. Cut lengthwise in halves and remove core. (A melon baller or metal measuring spoon is suitable for coring pears.) To prevent discoloration, keep pears in an ascorbic acid solution. Prepare a very light, light or medium syrup, or pack pears in apple juice, white grape juice or water.
Hot packs give the best quality product. Boil drained pears 5 minutes in syrup, juice or water. Fill hot jars with hot fruit and cooking liquid, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe jar rims, adjust lids and process. Processing directions for canning pears in a boiling-water canner and in a dial-gauge and a weighted-gauge canner are given on the back page.
Syrups for Use in Canning Fruits
|
Type of Syrup |
Percent Sugar* |
Cups of Sugar** Per Quart Liquid |
Yield of Syrup in Cups |
How Syrup is Used Commercially |
|
Very light |
10% |
½ |
4 ½ |
|
|
Light |
20% |
1 |
4 ¾ |
Very sweet fruit |
|
Medium |
30% |
1 ¾ |
5 |
Sweet apples, sweet cherries, berries, grapes |
|
Heavy |
40% |
2 ¾ |
5 1/3 |
Tart apples, apricots, sour cherries, gooseberries, nectarines, pears, peaches, plums |
|
Very Heavy |
50% |
4 |
6 |
Very sour fruit |
*Approximate
**In general, up to one-half of the sugar may be replaced by corn syrup or mild-flavored honey. A larger proportion of corn syrup may be used if a very bland, light-colored type is selected.
Recommended process times (in minutes) for pears, halved, in a boiling-water canner at various altitudes.
| Process time (in minutes) at altitudes of | |||||
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | 0-1,000 ft. | 1,001-3,000 ft. | 3,001-6,000 ft. | Above 6,000 ft. |
| Hot | Pints | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 |
| Quarts | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | |
Process times for pears, halved, in a dial-gauge pressure canner at various altitudes.
| Canner pressure (PSI) at altitudes of | ||||||
| Style of pack | Jar Size | Process time (min.) | 0-2,000 ft. | 2,001-4,000 ft. | 4,001-6,000 ft. | 6,001-8,000 ft. |
| Hot | Pints or Quarts | 10 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Process times for pears, halved, in a weighted-gauge pressure canner at various altitudes.
| Canner pressure (PSI) at altitudes of | ||||
| Style of pack | Jar size | Process time (min.) | 0-1,000 ft. | Above 1,000 ft. |
| Hot | Pints or quarts | 10 | 5 | 10 |
Let jars stand undisturbed for 24 hours, remove rings, check to make sure lids are sealed, wash jars, label, date and store.
Freezing
Select full-flavored pears that are crisp and firm, not mealy. Wash, peel and core. Slice medium pears into twelfths, large ones into sixteenths.
Syrup pack – Heat pears in boiling 40 percent syrup for 1 to 2 minutes, depending on size of pieces. Drain and cool.
Pack pears in freezer containers and cover with cold 40 percent syrup. For a better product, add 3/4 teaspoon (2250 mg) ascorbic acid to each quart of cold syrup. Leave headspace. Place a small piece of crumpled water-resistant paper on top to hold the fruit down. Seal, label, date and freeze.
Syrups for use in freezing fruits.
| Type of syrup | Percent sugar* | Cups of sugar** | Cups of water | Yield of Syrup in Cups |
| Very Light | 10 | 1/2 | 4 | 4 1/2 cups |
| Light | 20 | 1 | 4 | 4 3/4 cups |
| Medium | 30 | 1 3/4 | 4 | 5 cups |
| Heavy | 40 | 2 3/4 | 4 | 5 1/3 cups |
| Very heavy | 50 | 4 | 4 | 6 cups |
*Approximate
**In general, up to one-half of the sugar may be replaced by corn syrup or mild-flavored honey. A larger proportion of corn syrup may be used if a very bland, light-colored type is selected.
References
Michigan State University Extension Food Preservation Series Fact Sheet: Pears.. 2007. Bulletin WO1043. MSU Extension.
Andress, Elizabeth and Judy A. Harrison. So Easy to Preserve. Bulletin 989, 6th edition. Cooperative Extension University of Georgia, 2014.
National Center for Food Preservation. http://nchfp.uga.edu/
More information
Prepared by: Laurie Messing, MSU Extension educator
