Michigan Fresh: Using, Storing, and Preserving Pears (HNI22)

Michigan Fresh: Using, Storing, and Preserving Pears (HNI22)

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July 18, 2023 - Laurie Messing<lmessing@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension

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Food Safety and Storage

Pick or purchase pears that are not bruised or damaged.
Wash hands before and after handling fresh produce.
Wash pears under cool running Do not use soap.
Keep pears away from raw meat and meat juices to prevent cross-contamination.
For best quality and to preserve nutrients, preserve no more than your family can consume in one year.

Yield

1 pound =	2 cups sliced
11 pounds =	a canner load of 9 pints
17½ pounds =	a canner load of 7 quarts
1 bushel (50 pounds) =	40 to 50 pints frozen or 16 to 25 quarts canned

How to Preserve

Canning

Pears, halved

Wash and peel pears. Cut lengthwise in halves and remove core. (A melon baller or metal measuring spoon is suitable for coring pears.) To prevent discoloration, keep pears in an ascorbic acid solution. Prepare a very light, light or medium syrup, or pack pears in apple juice, white grape juice or water.

Hot packs give the best quality product. Boil drained pears 5 minutes in syrup, juice or water. Fill hot jars with hot fruit and cooking liquid, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles; adjust headspace if needed. Wipe jar rims with clean paper towel, adjust lids and process. Processing guidelines for canning pears in a boiling-water canner, in a dial-gauge pressure canner and in a weighted-gauge pressure canner are included.

Preparing and Using Syrups
		Measures of water and sugar
Syrup type	Approx. % sugar	For 9-pt load (1)		For 7-qt load		Fruits commonly packed in syrup (2)
		Cups water	Cups sugar	Cups water	Cups sugar
Very light	10	6½	¾	10½	1¼	Approximates natural sugar levels in most fruits and adds the fewest calories.
Light	20	5¾	1½	9	2¼	Very sweet fruit. Try a small amount the first time to see if your family likes it.
Medium	30	5¼	2¼	8¼	3¾	Sweet apples, sweet cherries, berries, grapes.
Heavy	40	5	3¼	7¾	5¼	Tart apples, apricots, sour cherries, gooseberries, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums.
Very heavy	50	4¼	4¼	6½	6¾	Very sour fruit. Try a small amount the first time to see if your family likes it.

This amount is also adequate for a 4-quart load.
Many fruits that are typically packed in heavy syrup are excellent and tasteful products when packed in lighter The USDA recommends that lighter syrups be tried, since they contain fewer calories from added sugar.

This table is adapted from “Table 1. Preparing and Using Syrups” from Selecting, Preparing and Canning Fruit on the National Center for Home Food Preservation website at https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_02/syrups.html. That table was adapted from the USDA’s Com- plete Guide to Home Canning (Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539). Revised 2015.

Recommended process time (in minutes) for pears, halved, in a boiling-water canner.
		Process time (in minutes) at altitudes of
Style of pack	Jar size	0 - 1,000 ft	1,001 - 3,000 ft	3,001 - 6,000 ft	Above 6,000 ft
Hot	Pints	20	25	30	35
Hot	Quarts	25	30	35	40

Recommended process time (in minutes) for pears, halved, in a dial-gauge pressure canner.
			Canner pressure (PSI) at altitudes of
Style of pack	Jar size	Process time (min.)	0 - 2,000 ft	2,001 - 4,000 ft	4,001 - 6,000 ft	6,001 - 8,000 ft
Hot	Pints or quarts	10	6	7	8	9

Recommended process time (in minutes) for pears, halved, in a weighted-gauge pressure canner.
			Canner pressure (PSI) at altitudes of
Style of pack	Jar size	Process time (min.)	0 - 1,000 ft	Above 1,000 ft
Hot	Pints or quarts	10	5	10

Let jars stand undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours, remove rings, check to make sure lids are sealed, wash jars, label, date and store. Food in jars that do not seal must be reprocessed in a clean jar with a new lid within 24 hours, refrigerated or frozen.

Freezing

Select full-flavored pears that are crisp and firm, not mealy. Wash, peel and core. Slice medium pears into twelfths, large ones into sixteenths.

Syrup pack – Heat pears in boiling 40-percent syrup for 1 to 2 minutes, depending on size of pieces. Drain and cool.

Pack pears in freezer containers and cover with cold 40-percent syrup. For a better product, add ¾ teaspoon (2250 mg) ascorbic acid to each quart of cold syrup. Leave ½- to 1½-inch headspace dependent on container type. Place a small piece of crumpled water-resistant paper on top to hold the fruit down. Seal, label, date and freeze.

Syrups for Use in Freezing Fruits
Type of syrup	Percent sugar*	Cups of sugar**	Cups of water	Yield of syrup in cups
Very light	10	½	4	4½ cups
Light	20	1	4	4¾ cups
Medium	30	1¾	4	5 cups
Heavy	40	2¾	4	5⅓ cups
Very heavy	50	4	4	6 cups

*Approximate

**In general, up to one-fourth of the sugar may be replaced by corn syrup or mild-flavored honey. A larger proportion of corn syrup may be used if a very bland, light-colored type is selected.

References

Andress, E., & Harrison, J. A. (2014). So easy to preserve (Bulletin 989). (6th ed.). University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.
Pears (WO1043). (2007). (Food Preservation Series). Michigan State University Extension.
National Center for Home Food Preservation. http://nchfp.uga.edu/

More information

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Authors

Laurie Messing
lmessing@msu.edu

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MSU Extension Michigan Fresh