Canning Pears
A Basic Recipe For Getting Started In The Art Of Canning Pears
There are a plethora of recipes home canning pears and other preserved foods. If you are new to home canning pears, it is helpful to have some basic recipes that you can make several times, getting it down to a science and an art.
The following is a recipe for pear to help you get started. These preserves are guaranteed to please your family and guests, as well as making an inexpensive and thoughtful gift for holidays, birthdays, or just as a way to say you care.
Jars must have been sterilized in advance, according to the instructions of the manufacture of your canning equipment.
Pear preserves
Gather the following ingredients and pre-measure each item:
4 cups of sugar
4 pounds of firm pears, pealed
2 teaspoons of ground ginger
1/4th cup of fresh lemon juice
Grate the pears to a coarse consistency, and combine with all other ingredients in a large pot.
Bring to boil. Watch carefully to avoid burning.
Heat on medium for about 45 minutes. Mixture should be thick
Fill wide mouth prepared canning jars to ¼ inch from the top.
Scrape the sides of the jars with a knife to remove any air bubbles or empty pockets. Place lids and rings tightly on jars and process according to your selected method.
There are different canning methods and equipment for different foods. The biggest factor is whether the food is acidic or not. All fruit is acidic, so the boiling water method is a good one for canning pears.
Boiling water bath method: This involves boiling filled jars in a pot of water at 180 degrees to sterilize. Fill the pot half full and boil water to 180 degrees. Place the jars in the pot. The canning machine comes with a rack in the bottom of the pot. Add water as needed so that it is 2 inches above jar tops. Cover the pot and let water come to a boil again. Boil jars as instructed by the equipment manufacture, usually 45 minutes. This process causes the jars to vacuum seal. Turn off the heat and leave jars in water for 5 more minutes.
Remove the jars and set on a towel. They must sit for about 12 hours.
The other common method is pressure cooker. It must be monitored with a gage that comes with it to be sure it is the correct temperature. This method is more favored for vegetables, but the boiling water bath is usually sufficient for fruits. The pressure method does give greater control of possible bacteria. The drawback is that fruits may become over processed with the pressure method and loose their shape and flavor. Another factor is that pressure cookers can cause an explosion if the release of steam is not correctly controlled.
A 21-quart boiling water bath canner may cost 150 to 400.00. The expensive kind are not required for successful canning. Pressure cookers are more expensive and complex to use. Water bath method kills most bacteria as well as yeasts and molds.