My family loves, loves, loves canned pears. However, I have never loved, loved, loved canning them because pears are so much work! Well, my friend Missy gave me a trick that has revolutionized canning pears!! I really think this trick made my 41 quarts of canned pears go twice (or more) as fast.What you will need:
- A 4-6 inch piece of tuelle (fabric with little holes in it- think ballet tu-tus!) If you can find the slightly larger holes, it works better. It is sort of a stiff, nylon mesh.
- Large pan to blanch the pears
- Large bowl of ice water
Choose ripe, firm pears. When they start to turn yellow, they are ready! You can also press lightly right by the stem- if it is hard, they are not yet ready. If it "gives" a little, they are done. Put pears in boiling water for 22 seconds (depending on ripeness- this amount of time was perfect for my pears). Immediatly put in ice water.
Take tuelle and wrap it around your thumb (I am right handed, so I used it on my right thumb). You don't have to wrap it around your thumb, you can just use the tuelle with all your fingers to scrub. I just found the thumb trick to work the very best. The thumbs are the strongest finger- you will use mainly the thumbs as you get rid of the skin! Hold the pear with both hands so your thumbs are free to scrub!
Under running water, use those thumbs! Press hard enough that the skin just comes off. The tuelle will get it started, and it will also remove any brown spots. Each pear takes about 5-10 seconds to scrub.
Put whole, peeled pears in bowl of water with Fruit Fresh or ascorbic acid to prevent browning.
Halve, and remove core. A melon baller or metal measuring spoon does a great job. Prepare a light or medium syrup or pack pears in apple juice, white grape juice, or water.
Process in Boiling Water Bath Canner, and ENJOY!
For processing times:
For Hot Pack:
Pints: 1-1000 ft: 20 min; 1001-3000 ft: 25 min; 3001-6000 ft: 30 min; Above 6000 ft: 35 min
Quarts: 1-1000 ft: 25 min; 1001-3000 ft: 30 min; 3001-6000 ft: 35 min; Above 6000 ft: 40min
For Raw Pack:
Pints: 1-1000 ft: 25 min; 1001-3000 ft: 30 min; 3001-6000 ft: 35 min; Above 6000 ft: 40 min
Quarts: 1-1000 ft: 30 min; 1001-3000 ft: 35 min; 3001-6000 ft: 40 min; Above 6000 ft: 45min
Love this suggestion for peeling pears and can't wait to try it. Just need to find some pears. . . I'm so impressed with all your beautiful canning - can almost taste it from the photos! Keep up the great work.
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