Old Fashioned Pear Preserves for Canning

When fresh pears are in season, set aside an hour or so to make up a batch of preserves. Open up a jar in the middle of winter and spread it on toast, spoon it onto a bowl of oatmeal, or serve it with ice cream. It has so many delicious uses!

During my teen years, I worked at the family farm stand, selling apples and pears and peaches to customers who made the drive from the city to get fresh fruit. While apples will always have my heart, the fresh Bartlett pears that ripened from green to yellow during the fall months were pretty delicious, too!

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Making Pear Preserves

This recipe comes complete with canning instructions from a certified Master Food Preserver (me) so that you can make a shelf stable product for the pantry.

You can absolutely skip this step if you think that your family will use the preserves in a reasonable amount of time. Simply keep it in the fridge and use it up within 2-3 weeks.

Ingredients

Pears – You’ll need 8-9 pounds of fresh fruit to make this recipe. Choose your favorite variety of pears, or what you have growing on the pear tree, if you’re lucky enough to have one in the backyard. Bartlett pears are my favorite, but Bosc or D’Anjou work as well. Whichever you use, opt for firm, ripe fruit. It is not necessary to peel pears, but if you use one of the coarse-skinned varieties, you might want to remove at least some of the skin.

Sweetener – This recipe calls for using one cup of granulated white sugar as the sweetener. For a richer flavor, you can use brown sugar. If you’d prefer to use honey, reduce the amount to 1/2 cup (honey tends to be sweeter than sugar). For a completely sugar free spread, try this pear butter.

Lemon juice – USDA preserving recipes all call for using bottled lemon juice. This assures that the acidity level in recipes is safe for canning.

Fresh ginger – This deliciously spicy root adds a depth of flavor to the preserves. If you don’t care for ginger, it’s safe to omit this ingredient.

Pectin – This recipe is made using Pomona’s Universal Pectin. This is the only pectin I use anymore as it allows me to use much less sweetener. The standard pectin brands use an obscene amount of sugar in my opinion, often requiring equal amounts of sugar and fruit! This product uses a low methoxyl method and calls for using two different ingredients, which are included in the box: pectin (the large packet) and calcium powder (the small packet). The dry pectin is mixed with the sweetener before being added to the fruit. The calcium water is added directly to the fruit. You cannot use regular pectin to replace the Pomona Pectin in this recipe.

Making the Preserves

Wash and dry the pears. Dice enough into half-inch pieces to make two cups; set aside. Mash the remaining fruit using a potato masher. 

Measure six cups of the mashed pears into a large stockpot along with the ginger, calcium water, and lemon juice.

Combine the pectin with the sugar, making sure it’s thoroughly combined.

When the pear mixture reaches a full rolling boil, add the sugar mixture to the cooking fruit, stirring for a minute or two to assure that the pectin is well distributed. 

Stir in the two cups of reserved diced pears, return to a boil, boil for one minute, and remove from heat.

This recipe measured at a pH under 3.5, putting it well into the “safe” zone for water bath canning.

Canning Process

You’ll need special canning jars, lids, and rings to make this a shelf-stable product, but the process isn’t difficult.

Transfer hot jam into canning jars, leaving a quarter-inch headspace. Use a non-metallic knife or bubble tool to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars, removing any residue.

Place the lids on and process them in a water bath canner. What this means is you’ll put the filled and sealed jars of jam into boiling water and heat them for ten minutes. This assures that the jars will seal well and kills off any potential bacteria in the jam mixture itself.

Use a jar lifter to remove the hot jars to a towel-covered countertop and allow to cool fully. As they cool, you’ll hear the little “tink” sound of the jars sealing. Store any unsealed jars in the fridge and use those first. (This is unusual, but it does happen once in awhile.)

Remove the ring from each sealed jar of pear preserves, rinse to remove any jam residue, and store (without the ring) at room temperature in a dark place such as the pantry. Opened jars should be kept refrigerated; they’ll last in the fridge for several weeks.

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Old Fashioned Pear Preserves for Canning

Yield: 10 half-pint jars

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Making ginger pear preserves is a delicious way to capture the flavor of fall in a jar. Keep some in your pantry and wrap some jars for gift giving.

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Ingredients

• 8-9 pounds of pears
• 2 tablespoons ginger root, grated
• 8 teaspoons calcium water (from Pomona's Pectin box)
• 1/2 cup lemon juice (bottled)
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 teaspoons pectin powder (from Pomona's Pectin box)

Instructions

Prepare for Canning

1. Prepare the calcium water: Combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (from the small packet in the box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small jar. Screw on a lit and shake until well-combined. You'll have more than you need for this recipe. Store the excess in the refrigerator for use in making additional jam or jelly recipes.
2. Wash the jars you'll use, making sure each is clean and free of nicks in the rim, which could impede sealing.
3. Wash the lids and rings in hot soapy water. (If you're using non-Ball brand lids, prepare as suggested by manufacturer.)
4. Place empty jars in a canning pot or large stock pot with enough water to cover by an inch or two, cover pot, and set on high heat. It can take awhile for the water to heat, so get it started before you begin making the recipe.

Make the preserves

1.  Wash and dry the pears and dice enough unpeeled pears into 1/2” pieces to make 2 cups; set aside. 

2.  Cut remaining fruit into pear chunks and mash coarsely with a potato masher until you have 6 cups; transfer to a large pot. Combine pears with the ginger, prepared calcium water, and lemon juice; stir to combine well.

3.  In a separate bowl, combine the sugar with the pectin powder (the large envelope) until thoroughly combined.

4.  Bring mashed pears to a full boil. Add sugar mixture, stirring vigorously for a couple of minutes to dissolve the pectin. Stir in diced pears. Return to a full boil, boil for one minute, and remove from heat.

Canning pear preserves

1.  Lift empty jars from the boiling water canner and drain. Ladle hot mixture into half-pint jars to within a
quarter inch of the rim. A canning funnel makes this easy.

2.  Wipe rims of jars to remove any of the preserves that may have spilled. A clean rim is essential to a good seal.

3.  Set jar lids in place. Screw bands on finger tight.

4.  Use a jar lifter to gently submerge jars into the hot water bath. Be sure to place a wire rack in the bottom of the pot to prevent the jars of pear jam from sitting directly on the bottom. There should be enough water in the canner to cover the top of the jars by an inch or two. The water will cool somewhat in reaction to the addition of the jars. Return the water to a low boil and then set the timer.

5.  Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Add a minute to the boiling time for every 1,000' above sea level. Lift jars from the canner and place jars on a kitchen towel on the counter.

6.  Check seals. Lids should be solid and pulled down tight. (if they flex and pop, the jar didn’t seal; put unsealed jars in the refrigerator and use those first).

7.  Remove rings and wash outsides of jars. Store in a cool, dry place.

Notes

This recipe is made using Pomona’s Universal Pectin. This is the only pectin I use anymore as it allows me to use much less sweetener. The standard pectin brands use an obscene amount of sugar in my opinion, often requiring equal amounts of sugar and fruit! This product uses a low methoxyl method and calls for using two different ingredients, which are included in the box: pectin (the large packet) and calcium powder (the small packet).

This recipe calls for using one cup of granulated white sugar as the sweetener. For a richer flavor, you can use brown sugar. If you’d prefer to use honey, reduce the amount to 1/2 cup (honey tends to be sweeter than sugar).

Boiling lids or heating above 180°F as once recommended can damage the sealing compound.

I prefer to store jars without the rings. This allows easier detection in case of a failed seal.

SOURCE: Adapted from Pomona's Universal Pectin.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 160 Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 18Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 0g

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