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Does anyone else think that we have entirely overcomplicated canning recipes to the point that folks are now believing it’s because people unalived years ago and that’s why things are unapproved? That couldn’t be further from the truth and I don’t understand the fear surrounding botulism and how it’s instantly linked to home canned food and only home canned food. The reality is, the prevalence of botulism in home canned food is very rare and you have to be pretty careless for it to get into your jars. I’m not going into this rant today because I honestly don’t feel like it, but please do some research and understand botulism. Once you do, you’ll be asking questions. I just don’t understand the lovely sentiment of “enjoy your botulism” every time I post a recipe… it’s excessively ignorant and uneducated coming from the crowd that FoLlOwS tHe ScIeNcE. I digress.

For the purpose of today, we’re canning HIGH ACID food, which means botulism ain’t gonna like us. The botulism spore will not be active or produce the toxin in an anaerobic environment (like in your jars) in the presences of an acidic environment, therefore we aren’t relying on the heat of processing to deactivate it but are relying on the acid making this safe for water bath canning pears. If you want to pressure your pears, be my guest, just be prepared your pears will be pink after canning because the high heat causes a chemical reaction that makes them turn pink. The natural pH of pears are ranging between 3.4-4.7, so when paired with some lemon juice, with a natural pH of 2-3, we add to the jars to prevent browning, our acidity levels are far below anything that the (harmless) botulism spore is going to thrive in.

You also have to think of the testing agencies (like the NCHFP) and them doing the best they could with minimal funding. Of course they’re not going to test canning of peeled versus unpeeled fruit. Why would they? They’re trying to find you the prettiest and best tasting end product and probably assumed most of us wanted peeled fruit like the stores sold and also probably assumed some measure of incompetence of cleaning our fruit ourselves prior to canning. The lack of funding meant incomplete studies and focused ones at that and did not prove that recipes outside their realm of testing were unsafe. They’ve been proven in their own way through generational families continuing to pass down practices and recipes. But, that’s my opinion and it doesn’t have to be yours. Home canning is not profitable for companies, so obviously lots of people aren’t going to fund something that doesn’t make them money. The profitable things get the attention… and self sufficiency is not one of them.

In This Post You'll Find...

A List of Rebellious Practices I Use to Can Pears

I can my fresh pears in a very light syrup using my lazy girl syrup method I learned a while ago. Let the jars make the sugar syrup for you instead of dirtying an extra pan and making the mess of boiling a syrup. It’s not going to cause botulism, I promise, but it is considered rebel canning, so make your own decisions. K? My lazy girl syrup method involves adding the honey, maple syrup, or sugar straight to the jar and topping off with boiling water. It works! You can can pears with no added sugar and just water or even juice you have on hand. Whatever you want. But today, I will be showing you what I do, adding unrefined sugar to each jar and topping with boiling water. I don’t like honey with my pears… I know, strange.
I also choose not to peel my pears, which is also rebel canning. The thing is, I know who grows them, so the peels aren’t an issue. Not because you’ll die, but because peeled pears look entirely more appetizing than unpeeled and sometimes the peels will fall off the fruit and stick to the roof of your mouth. It’s a bit odd, but not odd enough to make me want to peel fruit until my carpal tunneled hands are stuck as little claws and my fingers don’t work… not a fan, 0/10 stars, would not recommend.
I also raw pack my pears, meaning I don’t heat them in the syrup or boiling water for five minutes. The heating process allows the pears to release their oxygen bubbles and shrink prior to canning, making the end result jars after canning appear full. If you don’t preheat and choose to raw pack, like me, the pears do shrink leaving floating pears and about an inch of empty space at the bottom in each quart jar. I’ve found after cooling, the fruit settles in the jar again. But the National Center for Home Food Preservation will call this “poor quality” because it’s not perfect and doesn’t look as pretty. Of course anyone writing recipes is going to want you to get the best looking, best tasting, and best textured end product so you don’t whine about it. If you want to do the hot pack method, simply boil some water (preferably make a simple syrup that you’re going to use to can then so you don’t lose that flavor, and allow the pears to cook in the boiling liquid for 5 minutes in batches).

Pears are lovely canned plain with a syrup, but you can also can your own spiced pears to create a more interesting dessert or a lovely start to a fruit crisp or cobbler. Some spices I like to add to jars of pears include:

cinnamon sticks
star anise
vanilla bean
whole cloves
freshly grated nutmeg

Let’s can us some pears!

Equipment You May Want:

Wide Mouth Canning Jars (quart or pint)
Steam canner or water bath canner
Peeler
Paring Knife

Ingredients:

Ripe pears
Unrefined sugar
Bottle Lemon Juice
Water
Spices, optional

Step 1: Wash Pears

Prepare ripe, undamaged pears by washing. You want mature fruit of ideal quality. I choose to soak them in a vinegar solution in my sink with cool water. Fill the sink with water and add a couple of healthy glugs of vinegar to the water. I let them soak for about 15 minutes, then scrub each one with a soft cloth and rinse well in running water. I place the pears on a clean towel as I work. Wash them however you want, just be thorough and don’t be nasty.

Step 2: Prepare Jars

Wash wide mouth pint or quart canning jars and lids in hot, soapy water. Rinse well and set aside on a clean towel.

Step 3: Process Pears

If you want to peel pears, do so. If you do, I peel about 4 pears at a time, and then slice and core them and fill a jar to prevent browning just as I would had I not peeled them. Because I’m insane, I do about 2 jars of “properly” canned pears so I can beat some butt at the fair. Yes, I’m nuts, but yes, they also have to look pretty to win. ;D

Slice pears in half or quarters, remove the seeds and core (I use a spoon or melon baller scoop), and add the pear half or quartered pear slices to a jar. Tap the bottom of the jar to settle the pears and add more, keeping them below 1/2″ headspace. Pack pears gently and avoid pressing them down with your hand so you don’t crush them and pack them in so tight they siphon during canning.

Once a jar is full, add in:

2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of raw, unrefined sugar (or honey, maple syrup, nothing)

Then, pour in hot water to 1/2″ headspace, remove bubbles, and add more if needed. Plan on about 2 cups water per quart jar. Wipe the rims of the jars well, add lid and secure with screw bands. I keep a tea kettle filled with water heated and fill the jars as I work.

Repeat, working on jar at a time and adding the lemon juice and water before starting a new jar to prevent browning. This has been the best way to prevent any discoloration for me; even better than acidulated water and a big bowl. PLUS, less dishes. What canner is going to complain about that?!

If you would prefer to process all your pears at once and then fill jars, create a lemon water solution in a large mixing bowl and submerge the pears in it as you work. You can also make an ascorbic acid solution or use fruit fresh (citric acid) as well. Again, whatever works for you.

Step 4: Canning

Once all your jars are filled and lids are on and secured, place jars in a steam canner or water bath canner. If you are water bath canning, add hot water from the tap to your canner over the jars. Don’t worry about having water simmering while you work in the canner because we’re raw packing the pears, they’ll need to heat a bit more slowly to prevent siphoning.

Place the canner over medium heat and slowly heat up. Bring steam canner to temperature or boiling water bath canner to a full rolling boil and process quart jars for 25 minutes or process pints for 20 minutes, adjusting time for elevation if needed. The times I give are for 1000ft or less, always.

Once the processing time is complete, shut off the heat and allow to cool with the canner lid off of the water bath canner for 10 minutes before removing jars from the canner to a heat proof surface lined with a towel.

You may notice that the sugar has settled at the bottom and appears solid. Don’t worry. After a week, the sugar dissolves back into the syrup within the jar!

Allow jars to cool undisturbed for 18-24 hours before removing bands, testing seals, washing jars, labeling, and storing. Store jars in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight and out of extreme temperatures. For best nutritional value, try and rotate canned goods out in about 2 years but they’re last longer than that. If the seal is intact, they’re fine.

Notes:

If you want to add spices, add them to the bottom of the jar, or for a cinnamon stick or vanilla bean, tuck them in along the side. I usually split the vanilla bean before putting it in the jar so the caviar is exposed.
You can use no sugar, less sugar, the same amount of sugar I use, or even more sugar. If you want to fill the entire jar with sugar, be my guest. It’s all about what you want! The amount of sugar I add to a quart jar in this recipe is based off of calculations of a very light syrup you would find in a canning book, like the Ball Blue Book. Yes, I actually mixed the syrup together and then measured how much went into each jar and figured up how much sugar was in each jar with this. All for you so you don’t have to. 2 tablespoons per quart actually worked out to a bit less than a light syrup calls for!
If you want to do pints, just halve the amounts of lemon juice and sugar I call for.
Varieties of pears that are good for canning are whatever pear I can get my hands on. I’ve never cared what kind, as long as they taste good! Taste the pears before you can them, because if they aren’t good before you can them, they won’t be any better after. Less desirable flavored pears are wonderful to use for pear butter and add tons of spices to and cook for a while.

How to Preserve Pears in a Syrup: Easy Home Canning

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 1

Canning Time: 25

Total Time: 1 25

Servings: quart

Author: Ruby – Red Feather Farm

Equipment

Wide Mouth Canning Jars (quart or pint)
steam canner or water bath canner
Peeler
Paring Knife

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds ripe pears
2 tbsp raw, unrefined sugar
2 tbsp bottled Lemon Juice
2 cups water
Spices optional

Instructions

THIS RECIPE IS PER QUART JAR.

Prepare ripe, undamaged pears by washing. I choose to soak them in a vinegar solution in my sink with cool water. Fill the sink with water and add a couple of healthy glugs of vinegar to the water. I let them soak for about 15 minutes, then scrub each one with a soft cloth and rinse well in running water. I place the pears on a clean towel as I work.
Wash wide mouth quart canning jars and lids in hot, soapy water. Rinse well and set aside on a clean towel.
If you want to peel pears, do so.
Slice pears in half or quarters, remove the seeds and core (I use a spoon or melon baller scoop), the layer the slices or halves into the jar. Tap the bottom of the jar to settle the pears in and add more, keeping below 1/2" headspace. Avoid pressing or packing them in with your hand to prevent overpacking and siphoning during canning.
Once the jar is filled, add in 2 Tbsp sugar and 2 Tbsp bottled lemon juice to the jar. Top off to 1/2" headspace with hot water, debubble, and add more water if needed to maintain headspace.
Wipe rim of jar, add lid and secure with a screw band. Repeat process until all jars are filled, but work one jar at a time so you have the pears in the lemon juice water in jars to prevent browning as you work.
Water bath quart jars at a full rolling boil for 25 minutes, adjusting time for elevation if needed.
After processing time is complete, shut off heat and remove canner lid and allow jars to cool in the canner for 10 minutes before removing and setting aside to cool undisturbed for 18-24 hours.
After cooling time, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight and extreme temperatures.
Aim to use canned goods within 2 years for best nutritional value, but they will last longer than that. If the seal is good, they're good.

Notes

If you want to add spices, add them to the bottom of the jar, or for a cinnamon stick or vanilla bean, tuck them in along the side. I usually split the vanilla bean before putting it in the jar so the caviar is exposed.
You can use no sugar, less sugar, the same amount of sugar I use, or even more sugar. If you want to fill the entire jar with sugar, be my guest. It’s all about what you want! The amount of sugar I add to a quart jar in this recipe is based off of calculations of a very light syrup you would find in a canning book, like the Ball Blue Book. Yes, I actually mixed the syrup together and then measured how much went into each jar and figured up how much sugar was in each jar with this. All for you so you don’t have to. 2 tablespoons per quart actually worked out to a bit less than a light syrup calls for!
If you want to do pints, just halve the amounts of lemon juice and sugar I call for.
Varieties of pears that are good for canning are whatever pear I can get my hands on. I’ve never cared what kind, as long as they taste good! Taste the pears before you can them, because if they aren’t good before you can them, they won’t be any better after. Less desirable flavored pears are wonderful to use for pear butter and add tons of spices to and cook for a while.