Pear Butter (and How to Can It!) (2024)

FAQs

Do pears need lemon juice when canning? ›

Bottled Lemon Juice (optional) – You can use lemon juice in your bowl of water to help keep pears from turning brown while peeling the rest. This is purely optional and not necessary to safely can them. Sugar – Sugar is optional when canning pears. See syrup ratios above to know how much sugar you'll need.

At this point, you may either can the pear butter, or simply let it cool to room temperature and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. If you plan to store the pear butter outside of a refrigerator, follow proper canning procedures.

Fill the jars and cover the pears with the syrup, retaining the ½-inch of headspace at the top of the jars. Wipe the rims clean and fit with lids and rings. Place in a boiling water bath canner, ensuring the jars are covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 25 minutes (depending on altitude – see chart).

Note: The higher temperature in pressure canning can cause pink discoloration in canned pears. Boiling water canning would be a better option. Table 1. Recommended process time for Pears, halved in a boiling-water canner.

Prevent discoloration of the peeled pears by holding them in a solution made by crushing six 500mg vitamin C tablets (or 1 teaspoon ascorbic acid) in one gallon water or use a commercial ascorbic acid mixture. Drain pears well before canning or freezing.

When purified procyanidins were treated at 95 °C at three different pH values (2.7, 3.3, and 4.0), procyanidin concentrations decreased after treatment, the more so as the pH was lower, and a pinkish color also appeared, attributed to tannin-anthocyanidin pigment. The pink color was bound to cell walls.

Canning tends to be something that you aren't supposed to improvise on. Yes, the skins will peel off quite easily after canning, much like peach or tomato skins peel off after blanching. And yes, it is safe to can them with the skins on.

Raw packing pears simply means placing the peeled fruit in the jars without precooking them, filling the jars with syrup, and processing them in the canner. If you are preserving pears without additional added sugar (ex: sugar, honey, fruit juice), you must hot pack them.

Bartlett, Bosc and Seckel are good varieties to preserve, however Anjou, Comice, Nelis and Forelle may also be preserved, depending on the end product. It is important to harvest pears at the correct time. Pick them when they are mature in size but not yet fully ripe.

Unopened canned pears can be stored in the pantry for 12-18 months. Check the date on the label. After opening, store in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. To cut down on added sugars, look for pears canned in 100% juice or water, rather than syrups.

Can you preserve pears without canning? ›

Pears can be preserved in several ways: refrigeration, freezing, canning, or dehydrating. You'll want to choose the best method for you based on how long you'd like your preserves to keep. The most short-term method of preserving. Preserves can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three months.

The acidity from the lemon juice stops the fruit from oxidising, leading to less browning over time. Plus, it will keep them tasty, too! You can use fresh lemon juice or store-bought lemon juice. Your pears will probably keep their color for about 8 hours.

If your recipe called for lemon juice and you forgot to put it in, your mixture will not be acid enough for safe canning. You have to open the jars and put the mixture into a sauce pan.

ACIDIFYING TOMATOES FOR SAFE CANNING

When canning products with an unknown pH, they must be acidified to a pH of below 4.6 with lemon juice or citric acid. Tomatoes and figs are two examples where the pH values hover near or above 4.6.

Other pears, such as Bartlett, Moonglow and Clapp's Favorite, are also suitable for canning. These have enough natural acid that they do not need to be acidified for safety. Pear halves can be processed in a water bath canner or pressure canner.