~ by Texas Homesteader ~
When it’s pear season, I like to use them to make fresh pear preserves. It’s a favorite of RancherMan’s for sure!
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RancherMan loves the pear preserves typically made by a close family friend. So I called her up & asked if she would share her recipe.
Being the sweetheart that she is, she did! And she said I was welcome to share the recipe with you. (Thanks Virginia)
Picking Fresh Pears
A sweet friend invited me to come pick some of the pears from her huge pear tree recently. And of course I jumped on that offer!
RancherMan & I showed up at her house armed with a feed sack that typically holds 50 lbs of feed. We proceeded to fill that bad boy up with pears!
We thanked her profusely, waved goodbye and came home to begin processing all those pears.
Having so many pears to go through I was very thankful that I had this *apple peeler
to get me through it quickly.
I don’t know what I would do if I had to peel that many pears with a paring knife!
I found that I could peel, core & slice a pear in 5-7 seconds! WOO-HOO, watch me go!
Of course the first thing I canned was a couple of batches of pear halves in light syrup.I love to eat these right out of the jar cold from the fridge.
But now I’ll be making RancherMan’s favorite pear preserves using Ms. Virginia’s recipe.
Why Are My Pear Preserves Too Juicy?
I preferred to make these pear preserves in double batches. And with the first double-batch of preserves I made, I followed the recipe exactly.
But it seemed to have too much syrup. And I had to boil the pears over 2.5 hours to get it to the consistency I wanted.
Note: Pear preserves in photo were not canned. If canning be sure to fill with only 1/2″ headspace.
Tip For Thicker Pear Preserves Using Very Ripe Pears
I asked Virginia about the thinner preserves & she said it appeared my pears must be very ripe. She recommended that I should try it again with the same amount of sugar but less water & slightly more pears per batch.
So for my second double-batch of Pear Preserves using very ripe pears I used:
11 cups of peeled chopped pears
1 cup water
3 cups sugar
2 sliced lemons
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
It did seem to help the quantity of syrup.
I only boiled the pears this time for about 1 hr 15 minutes. I like to get them to reach a temperature of 220 degrees F. for a nice thick syrup.
When they were as thick as I like I turned off the heat, stirred in a tablespoon of vanilla.
Water Bath Canning Instructions For Pear Preserves
I wanted to can the preserves, they make amazing Christmas gifts!
To water-bath can pear preserves:
Ladle hot, thick preserves into clean hot jars
Wipe the rim of any syrupy drips
Placed two-part canning lid in place – finger tight only.
Lower into a water bath canner, covering jars by at least 1″ water.
Once water returns to boiling, process for 10 minutes.
Remove, set aside undisturbed overnight.
The resulting pear preserves this second time were a lighter color. Maybe because I didn’t simmer the pears as long, although I really love the golden color of the first batch too. Both were absolutely delicious!
Virginia warned me not to try to make more than a double batch at a time so I heeded her advice and always make double batches. Each of the double-batches I made yielded 6 half-pints.
Favorite Fresh Pear Preserves Recipe
So without further adieu here’s the single-batch recipe as Virginia gave to me along with her instructions
(I have included a few of my own notes in italics)
Did you make these Pear Preserves? Please rate the recipein your comment below!
4 from 2 votes
SINGLE-BATCH PEAR PRESERVES RECIPE
This delicious recipe yields 3 half-pints of pure bliss. I always double it! The recipe was shared by a dear friend and is RancherMan's absolute favorite preserve. I'm happy to make it for him every year.
CourseJams & Jellies
CuisineAmerican
Keywordpear, preserves
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Water-Bath Canning Time - half pints 10 minutes
Servings 3 Half-Pint Jars
Author www.TexasHomesteader.com
Ingredients
- 1quart(4 cups) peeled, cored & cubed pears(~TxH~ Note: add another 1.5 cups for very ripe & juicy pears)
- 1.5cupssugar
- 1cupwater(~TxH~ Note: use only 1/2 cup water for very ripe & juicy pears)
- 1lemonsliced 1/4" with seeds removed
- 1TablespoonVanilla extract (optional - I added after pears were cooked but before adding to jars)
Instructions
DIRECTIONS: Peel, core, and cut up the pears. You will need 4 cups of pears PER BATCH ready to go. (See notes below for very ripe pears)
Make a syrup of 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water. (See notes below for very ripe pears)
Boil about 10 minutes to dissolve the sugar and start the process of creating syrup, then cool slightly.
Slice lemon into approximately 1/4" slices and remove the seeds. Add lemon slices to the syrup when you start the process with the pears, three or four slices to each quart of pears.
Add prepared pears & lemon slices and bring to a slow boil. Once boiling, boil rapidly until the pears are translucent and tender. This generally takes about 30 minutes to one hour.
(note, my boiling process took longer, I like them to reach 220 degrees F. Watch for the pears to turn translucent and for the syrup to thicken to your liking)
Watch the boiling pears closely as they can burn very badly quickly.
Canning Pear Preserves
Place hot preserves in clean, hot ½ pint canning jars, leaving ½" headspace.
Wipe jar rim and place 2 part canning lid and ring on top of jar, tightening only finger tight.
Lower jars into water bath and make sure water covers the top of the jars by 1" - 2".
When water returns to boil, process preserves 10 minutes. Then carefully remove from water-bath and place jars in draft-free location for 24 hours before removing the rings, testing the seal, wiping down and labeling the jars.
Recipe Notes
Note from Ms. V: This recipe comes from my mother's Kerr canning book circa 1938. It is a slow process but so worth it.
(~TxH~ Note: add another 1.5 cups of pears per single batch for very ripe & juicy pears)
(~TxH~ Note: use only 1/2 cup water for very ripe & juicy pears)
* * * * * * * * * *
Thanks Virginia – you’re the BEST!
~TxH~
This post categorized in 
Tagged in 
Other Pear Delights:
- Pear Sauce (like applesauce but with pears)
- Sweet-n-Savory Pear Relish
- Pears Canned In Light Vanilla Syrup
- Pear Cake – A Surprisingly Delicious Recipe
- Fresh Pear Preserves
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- Honeysuckle Jelly – Childhood Memories In A Jar
- Wild Plum Jelly – No Added Pectin!
- RancherMan’s Favorite – Pear Preserves
- Blueberry/Lemon Jam – No Added Pectin
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