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Canning Pears and Canning Fruits Canning Fruit
Courtesy of Good'n Crazy Canning pears is all about being quick. When you’re canning fruits, half the fun is seeing those pretty jars sitting on the shelf. Pears, like apples, turn brown very quickly when left in the air. You want them covered by an acidic substance like lemon juice or a sugar syrup at all times. When you’re getting ready to can pears, make sure to select perfectly ripe ones. Pears ripen at home, not on the vine, so if you get them a little hard you can ripen them on your windowsill. If they’re mushy, though, they’re no longer good for canning. Once filled these jars are so beautiful that you’ll want to keep them out on an attractive shelf, out of the sun of course, rather than hiding them away in a cabinet. They’re edible decorations! Courtesy of cwbuecheler The process for canning pears is the same process as canning most fruits. Peel and core them first, and then you can slice or quarter them depending on your preference. Make sure you’ve removed any brown or mushy spots from every pear.Once they’re exposed to the air, they’ll start to brown, so cover them with lemon juice while you’re working. Canning pears are packed hot by pouring a steaming sugar syrup over them in the jars. How to Can Pears Prepare by first sterilizing your jars. You can use your hottest setting on the dishwasher or boil the jars for 10 minutes in a large water bath canner. Lift them out with the jar tongs. Then place your lids in a shallow pan and pour hot water over them until you are ready to place them on your jars. You can get a magnetic lid lifter online so you don't burn yourself picking them up. Wash the pears and peel, core and slice. Courtesy of LaGrande When you have a bowl full of pears, you will want to keep them from darkening. You can pour a little lemon juice over them, or use fruit fresh. Darkened pears are harmless but no fun to eat.Pears are hot packed for food safety, so don't be mislead by recipes that raw or cold pack. The USDA and Ball Blue Canning Books do not recommend cold packing pears. Pears are packed either in a sugar solution or prepared juice, such as white grape or apple juices. Since sugar and water is the less expensive option, lets use sugar. Pears can "float" in the jars if the syrup used is too heavy, and besides, who needs excessive sugar? So I like to set my pears in either light or medium syrups. Light Syrup- 2 Cups Sugar to 6 Cups Water Medium Syrup- 3 Cups Water to 6.5 Cups Water Heavy Syrup- 4 Cups Sugar to 6 Cups Water Heat the water to a slow boil, adding sugar and stirring until dissolved. Pears that are hot packed are not just filled in jars with syrup over them. First you will need to add the apples to the pot of boiling syrup and boil them for 5 minutes, but no more. Fill the jars with the syrup boiling hot, being sure to leave 1/2" headspace to allow for expansion during processing. Wipe the jar rims with a clean damp dishcloth, then add the lids and screw on the bands. Now is the water bath canning step. Put the jars in the boiling water using jar tongs. Make sure the water covers the tops of the jars at all times. Process pints for 20 minutes, quarts for 25 minutes. If you are using a pressure canner process pints and quarts at 6 psi for 10 minutes.
Courtesy of Good'n Crazy Canning applesauce is a great way to make use of those huge bags of apples you can pluck off the trees in the fall. They’re typically highly discounted at U-Pick farms, and if you select a naturally sweet variety, you won’t have to add much sugar. Peel the apples, and use an apple corer to get the seeds out. Chop them up and then cook your apples in a big pot with either water or apple juice, and let them stay in the pot until they’re soft. Put them through a food grinder or a food mill, and you’ve got applesauce! Season it with cinnamon and keep it hot, filling each of your jars and leaving 1/2 inch of space at the top. You’ll want to process these for 20 minutes in pint jars and 25 minutes for quarts using the boiling water method. Applesauce is a healthy but still sweet nutritious snack when the snack attack happens.
Courtesy of Good'n Crazy Any fruits you’ve seen at the store canned can be canned at home at a better price and with more control over the process. Your canning pears and other fruits will be more nutritious, more flavorful and less expensive than anything you could lug home from the store. You can definitely assume that anyone you know will be better off eating canned applesauce from your kitchen than from even the finest stores. Other ideas for canning fruits include raspberries, peaches, or apricots. If you’re a pie fan, you can even do cherries and other berries. You can even add a little seasoning to the jar if you like, such as cinnamon, sugar or nutmeg. Just remember that your canned fruit is only as good as the fruit you use, so be sure to can fruit as it comes into season. Courtesy of Good'n Crazy Return to Frugal Living from Canning Pears
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