I’m a lazy canner you guys…
I adore canning and especially love surveying the pretty rows of brightly colored jars when I’m finished, but you can bet that if I can safely take a “shortcut,” I will.
Take my home-canned applesauce for example. The vast majority of applesauce recipes insist you peel the apples first. But if you’re me, you simply quarter them, core them, and toss them in the pot, peels and all. (And if you have a food mill, it gets even easier!)
When I decided to can pears last weekend, I was slightly dismayed to find that all the recipes called for peeling (not an easy task with a slippery, slimy pear) and then batch-cooking the fruit in heavy sugar syrups.
Blah.
This was not fitting with my lazy highly-efficient style of canning…
So I decided to make some adjustments. Now, generally, canning recipes are NOT something you want to adjust too much, as usually the “rules” are in place to keep the food safe to eat (for example–getting rebellious and canning low-acid food in a water bath canner instead of a pressure canner is a BAD idea).
However, after a little research I determined the edits I wanted to make would still allow me to produce SAFE canned pears with a bit less work. Score!
You’ll find two main changes in this canned pears recipe:
1) I did not peel my pears. Most people choose to peel them to avoid the grainy texture, but honestly, this doesn’t bother me too much. You can definitely still peel them if you like, or you can just be lazy like me and leave them intact.
2) I did not use sugar. At all. In many canning recipes, sugar acts as a preserving agent, however in canning peaches and pears, it is just for sweetness, which allows us to safely omit it. You can use honey if you like, but my pears were delectably sweet already, so I didn’t want to muddy the crisp pear flavor.
How to Can Pears Without Sugar
You Will Need:
- Firm, ripe pears (it generally takes 2-3 lbs of pears to fill one quart jar)
- Water
- Lemon juice (for pretreatment– optional)
Instructions:
Wash the pears and halve or quarter them. Remove spoiled spots. (You can peel them if you wish, but I didn’t!)
Allow the pears to soak for 2-3 minutes in a lemon juice bath. This helps to prevent discoloration. I mixed roughly 1/2 cup of lemon juice with 1 gallon of water, and then briefly washed/dipped the pears in the solution. (It definitely worked too! My pears didn’t discolor one bit).
Pack the pears into hot, sterilized jars.
Cover the pears with boiling water, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
(If you are new to canning, here is my complete water bath canning tutorial)
Process in a boiling water canner: 25 minutes for pints, 30 minutes for quarts.
Enjoy your home canned pears in homemade yogurt, oatmeal, or straight from the jar! You can even use them to make my new favorite dessert: rustic pear tart with cream & spice.
Try my favorite lids for canning, learn more about FOR JARS lids here: http://theprairiehomestead.com/forjars (use code PURPOSE10 for 10% off)
Canning Pears Recipe Notes:
- If you would like to sweeten up your pears a bit, you can add honey to your boiling water mixture. You’ll need to play around with the amounts, depending on how many pears you are canning and how sweet you’d like them to be.
- Avoid mushy, over-ripe pears for this recipe. Firm, ripe ones are the best.
- If you aren’t going to peel your pears, I suggest selecting organic varieties, as the peel often holds many of the icky chemicals.
- Looking to can peaches without sugar too? Try my Honey Cinnamon Canned Peaches.
- Want another delicious option for canning pears without refined sugar? Try Canning Pears in Maple Syrup! (Yum!)
- If you don’t want to can whole pears, try making pearsauce instead.
- Why cold-pack instead of hot-pack? Many canned pear recipes call for you to cook the pears first. Although this is the method most often recommended, I found that many folks like to simply cold-pack their pears as well. The benefits of cold-packing are less mushy fruit and less work, although some folks complain that cold-packed pears are prone to shrink a bit after you jar them and float to the top. That doesn’t bother me much, but if you are concerned, simply cook your pears for 5 minutes in the boiling water before you place them in the jars. Proceed to fill the jars with the hot cooking liquid, and voila! You’ll have hot-packed pears.
- Does canning totally stress you out? Trust me, I have totally been there! Here are my best tips for no-stress canning.
How to Can Pears Without Sugar
Ingredients
- Firm, ripe pears (it generally takes 2-3 lbs of pears to fill one quart jar)
- Water
- Lemon juice (for pretreatment– optional)
Instructions
- Wash the pears and halve or quarter them. Remove spoiled spots. (You can peel them if you wish, but I didn’t!)
- Allow the pears to soak for 2-3 minutes in a lemon juice bath. This helps to prevent discoloration. I mixed roughly 1/2 cup of lemon juice with 1 gallon of water, and then briefly washed/dipped the pears in the solution.
- Pack the pears into hot, sterilized jars.
- Cover the pears with boiling water, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
- Process in a boiling water canner: 25 minutes for pints, 30 minutes for quarts.
- Enjoy your home canned pears in homemade yogurt, oatmeal, or straight from the jar!
I am with you on the “high-efficiency” canning. I don’t can pears! I used to but when the kiddos would take them out of the jar they would just mash them up to put in oatmeal. I make pear sauce and don’t peel them for that either. We make pear muffins with the sauce too! Ok, now I’m hungry!
Pear muffins sound heavenly!
I canned pears in plum sauce a couple years ago. Not good if you want big pieces of pear because the acid in the plum breaks down the pears. Was never big on pears, but they were amazing.
where did you get your recipe for pear muffins
I doing can pears right now just about to load them up in the jars, when you put them in the court of water to boil for 25 minutes do you seal them with the lids or you leave off??????
Hi Dianne! Before you can your pears, make sure to read the directions thoroughly! Before you put the jars in the canner you put the seals and rims on the jars.
No lemon juice in the pears? I thought there had to be a certain acidity level to water bath can?
Most fruits have high enough acidity to can without lemon juice. You’ll need lemon juice with tomatoes, but it’s only for color in this case.
I just made these this afternoon!!
They look wonderful! My husband had been craving some canned pears, no sugar with skin on, and this was just the perfect recipe.
I did notice there are some tiny bubbles around the pears after processing, and I’m not sure if that means I did it 100% right.
We can’t wait to try them, so we’ll be popping the first open for dessert tonight!
How long can I keep the rest in the cupboard?
Thanks!!!!
You will need to put the lids and rings on before putting them in a water bath canner. The water in the canner should be an inch or two above the jars.
Instead of peeling them, you just use an immersion blender for pear or apple sauce and it grinds up the peels into the sauce. This adds more fiber and nutrition as the peels often have a lot of both depending on the variety. I used to make what I called rough apple sauce until I figured out how well the immersion blender worked.
One of my favorite blogs. And now I’m listening to you talk. Amazing I had no when I came to,convention you were this person
So glad you got to come to Convention Julia! 🙂 Wasn’t it awesome?!
I am so happy to find this recipe! I have a bumper crop of pears this year and they are so delicious! I don’t want to waste any. I was overwhelmed with the idea of peeling them. I love that I don’t have to put sugar in them. They turned out delicious! I can tolerate the skin if that means that I don’t have to peel them.
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Hi Julia! I’m so glad that you love this recipe! Peeling things before canning them can be super daunting, so it’s great to get to skip that step sometimes. 🙂
Best canned pears ever – and so easy. I had 60 lb. of pears to can. I did 16 pealed with a light syrup and then saw this article. Wow!! I did 51 pints the next day – a 78 year old lady working alone!! The pears with skins on retain their own sugar and you just pour the boiling water into the jars from the kettle. These are the tastiest pears I have ever had. So easy and more nutritious.
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I love making pear relish
I’ve canned pears for years,and although I do peel them, I’ve always used a light syrup, even though the Rodale canning book says you can use water. I think I may have done that one year. lol
Thanks for posting this. I like to cut sugar when I’m able.
When I have made pear sauce with minimum sugar, I would have to can in in tiny jars. Once it was opened in the fridge, it went bad QUICKLY – like in days. But the pears I canned regulary, were fine. BTW, the pear sauce (like applesauce, mostly just mashed pears with a little vit c for color) stayed just fine on the pantry shelf.
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I keep coming back to this recipe!!! Our school is providing meals for kids through this pandemic. We have been getting more pears than we know what to do with!! The first 2 times I used these techniques I got 3 quarts. I just did 6 more plus a pint!! My kids love them and eat them so much better when they are canned. The first 6 quarts are already gone. I did add 2 donks of stevia to each pint.
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How much is a donk? Not familiar with that measurement. Thanks.
I put a sprig of the stevia (that I grow) in the bottom of the jar.
Add 1/4+ cup water
Blanch pears for 16 to 20 seconds, put in cold water, and rub the skins off.
Cut pears in half and core with a small infant spoon.
Cube pears with Vidalia Chop Wizard, large cube
Pack in jars pushing down a little under water
If necessary add a little water, then can them.
My very favorite!
Yum. I’d love to can some pears. I’m right there with you on making things as easy as possible when canning. I’d also omit the sugar when possible. 🙂
I thought the only way you could can fruit without sugar is to pressure can it? I am new at canning and would love to can fruit without sugar. Is this safe? And is there a link with more information on this?
Yes– it is an approved method to can fruits without sugar (b/c they have a high enough acid content to keep them safe) Here’s more info: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09302.html
You could always preserve or add a bit of citric acid in your fruit if the “acid level” bothered you.
I do this sometimes. Citric acid (is basically Vit C powder) is used to prevent discoloration like the lemon juice above. It also raises the acidity level of your fruit to an acceptable level to water bath can.
Of course, one could argue that the lemon juice also does that.
Food for thought 🙂
I think either way your good though. Nothing to worry about !
“Citric acid (is basically Vit C powder) is used to prevent discoloration like the lemon juice above. ”
Vitamin C is actually ascorbic ascorbic acid, not citric acid, though both are found in citrus fruits.
Ascorbic acid (which is in a lot of vitamin c) is less bitter than citric acid. Fruit-Fresh / color protector has both ascorbic & citric acid, plus added fillers (like Dextrose [sugar] & Silicone Dioxide). Quote from the: Freezing & Canning Cookbook, “When Packing in Jars: Add a color protector to peaches, pears, apricots, applesauce and plums to keep their bright colors and prevent darkening fruit at top of jars. Add 1/2 tsp. ascorbic acid to 1 qt. fruit (1/4 tsp. to 1 pint) just before processing. Or use your favorite ascorbic acid mixture, following directions on the package label.”
I just add the approximate amount of acid (that I want to end up in the jar) to my water & sugar solution, then heat to a boil & add to heated jars with cold packed pears.
So for me that’s: 1-tsp Fruit-Fresh & 1/4-cup sugar to a cup of water.
If you only use ascorbic or citric acid with out fillers, you may not need to use as much as I do.
Asorbic and citric acid are both poison. Look up what they do to you when it’s in almost everything you eat.
Water bath method is used for fruits, pickles and tomato products,they are high acid products and water bath is effective in killing bacteria, etc. Pressure canning is needed for meats and vegetables. They are low acid.
I always put my canning in the oven instead of a water bath. I do this with beans and pickles. Will this work with pears as well?
No, that is not a safe way to can in the oven.
I’ve been canning without sugar for 53 years. I learned from my mother!
This is great! I was looking for a nice way to preserve some pears and came across this post. I’m also thinking about canning pear butter! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome! We picked rustic heirloom pears here in Quebec last week-end. These beautiful dark red and green juicy pears. So pretty in the jars with the skin!
Just for you : Our anti-browning solution : 1 gallon of water, 2 TBSP of salt, 2 TBSP cider vinegar… Does wonders!
Thanks for sharing Yanic!
Do you rinse it off? It is quite salty.
Thanks Cathy
I made these yesterday, no sweetener of any kind. Just poured the boiling water over the pears after I did the lemon juice/water soak. Today I checked on the jars and at the top of the jar the pears turned brown, the area that is slightly exposed to the section where there is no liquid. Is this normal?
I never use lemon and I always use filtered water. Chlorine will make them turn brown.
pg 233 “Freezing & Canning Cookbook” by Farm Journal, says, “When Peeling: Some fruits, like apples, pears and peaches, darken quickly after peeling. Drop them into a salt-vinegar water (2-TBsp salt & 2-TBsp vinegar added to 1-gal. cold water). DO NOT LET STAND IN THIS SOLUTION MORE THAN 20 MINUTES. If you exceed 15 minutes, rinse in cold water.
I have been canning for over 40 years. This sounds great!! How long will the pears last when canned like this?
They should have the same shelf life as any other commonly canned food. 🙂
Could you be more specific? 1 year? More?
I canned apples without sugar one time, but the apples lost some of their flavor after a few months. I have had success using apple juice when canning fruit.
I haven’t done pears for a few years now but when I did I used to bring water, lemon juice, sugar and spices (ginger root or juice, while cloves, blade mace and cinnamon stick) to a boil. Turn off the heat and allow the spices to steep. I peeled the pears and dropped them into a lemon juice bath til I was ready to jar them. I did bring my pears to a boil for a minute or so in the pre-prepared sugar solution. Them just bottled them in hot, sterilized jars, applied hot, sterilized lids and that’s all, folks. Job done. Yep! No water bath. Never had a jar ferment or find mould either. If some of the spice got into the jar, all the better. A bonus, you could say.
Properly canned fruit will last at least 10 years. To get bacteria you need air, and if no air is present then no bacteria. They may go brown at the top and that is just the sugar but they are still safe to eat. I learnt this at the Food Safe course.
There used to be a product out on the market years ago called Sure Gel Light that gave the instructions to make jams without sugar and I loved it because sugar just masked the flavor of the fruits. I can’t find it anymore and the ones I have found as options to all the sugar uses sugar substitutes or fruit juices instead when I would rather use just the fruit. Are there any sources that you know of that tells which ones must have sugar and which don’t need it?
Hmmm… I have’t seen anything like that recently– have you checked Amazon?
Try Pomona’s Universal Pectin
There is a place that I have seen this item. King Arthur Flour has sure gel but I’m not sure in what quantities.
I also highly reccomend Pamona’s Universal Pectin.
Packages or bulk. Workstead Industries, PO Box 1083 Greenfield, MA 01302. Telephone 413-772-6816. Also available online. No sugar needed, so you can use as much or little as you like.
★★★★★
Try Pomona’s Universal Pectin. We love it. Low sugar!
Sure Jell light just replaced sugar with dextrose which is a corn sugar. See the ingredients here: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/products/sure-jell-pectin-light-1-75-oz–2112.aspx
I follow the Paleo diet and found several jam recipes on the Internet. Look for Paleo recipes for jams. Hope this helps.
https://cornabys.com/product-category/thickeners-and-dry-ingredients/
sure gel is still on the market.. use it when I make my jams and I love it.
You can also slip the pear skins just as one does with peaches by dipping them in hot water, then cold.
I also scald and slip my pear skins like peaches. I peeled them for years, until someone told me that commercially they slip the skins. I’ve been doing it ever since, it sure saves a lot of mess.
Since your water bath time is more than 10 minutes, you can also save time/effort and don’t have to sterilize the jars beforehand, just wash them – they get sterilized during the water bath.
I tested to see if I could peel the skin off the pears. What I found is that the water for dipping/scalding absolutely must be boiling, before dunking the pear. I do a 40 second count & remove to cool/luke-warm water & let rest for 2 to 3 minutes; then peel. When it is done right, the pear will turn color from a faint light green to a pinkish color. After removing the peel, the surface of the pear almost instantly turns dark; however, you do not need to remove the darkened flesh, as it will not be in the finished product. I tested this and the only difference between removing the darkened areas and not; is that the darkened pears turn a rosy white, where the perfectly white pears are actually white.
After peeling transfer pear to an acid water bath solution until you’re ready to cut them up & core them.
Question: do you put the lids on after you put water into jars or after you have boiled the jars in the bath canner. It would seem that you put them on before as that what makes them seal, but I am a new at this and wanting to try canning. So just want to be sure. Thanks for all your interesting posts and helpful info, Jill.
God bless!
Barb
Definitely before you process the jars in the canner– here’s my full canning tutorial: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2011/01/homemade-applesauce-and-a-canning-tutorial.html
Thank you, Jill. You make it look easy! :0)
Thank you so much! I just knew I should be able to can peaches and pears without sugar! I will also add some cinnamon essential oil! Oh, I can’t wait! Now to find some peaches and pears!
I learned how to can fruit without sugar a long time ago from my grandmother. She use to say why ruin the fruit with all the sugar. I think however, that I will try a few with the skin on to see if I like it that, because your right not peeling them would be a lot easier.
I’m glad you mentioned the chemicals on the skin. I prefer
to peel the fruit.
I will try dipping the pears in the boiling water like I do the peaches.
I have judged at fairs and still like to see the foods neatly arranged
in the jars. I just did 46 quarts of peaches — so pretty. I used a very
light syrup 1 cup sugar to 4 to 6 c. water. Now am ready
to purchase the pears. I substitute pears when making apple
pies or using 1/2 and 1/2 for a great flavor. Thanks for sharing the
recipe for the anti-browning solution.
P. S. I do like to pressure can my foods.
5 lbs. pressure for 8 min. on peaches and pears.
Is it alright to can green pears along with ripe ones? Or should I wait until they
rippen before I can them?
I’d let them ripen first– will give better end result.
Loved reading this it’s like you took the words right outta my mouth!
Thanks for the super easy instructions! I’ve jammed for years and am now trying my hand at canning… Peaches earlier and pears now. I have a batch in the water bath right now; pealed and with a super light honey water… My 6 year old son is convinced we are having them for lunch! This batch is Flemish, and the next will be Bosch. Sincere thanks for the efficient method!!
Getting back into canning & my neighbor gave me a ton of firm pears. Haven’t canned pears before. Question: I don’t have canning type cooker, can I just boil the jars after filling to create a safe seal?
I don’t see why not if the pot you’re using is deep enough to cover the jars. I made raspberry jam once and my canning pot was packed up. I used my big cooking pot and it worked like a charm. Every single jar sealed. In a pinch, I would say yes.
Water has to cover top of jars by 2 inches to get a proper seal when water bath canning. If your pot isn’t deep enough for that you can not use. Or use pints instead. Do not let the jars sit right on the bottom of the pot. If you don’t have any thing you can use the metal rings of canning jars.
This is really funny. I have seen this comment about covering the jars with water (when processing).
If the jars are covered with water, then you run the risk of the jar sucking in more water (if the lid is not on tight enough). If the lid is on too tight, the jar cannot release the pressure & can break-out the bottom of the jar, ruining your efforts. So, I always recommend having the canner water about the height of the bottom of the ring, or so (that it cannot cover the jar while at a full boil). If you are concerned you can sterilize your lids in boiling water before you put them on the jars.
Thank you! I just learn to can this week. The dad of my husband have two pear trees. They canned 1/3 of it and the rest finish in the compost…. I had to do something. I’m pretty sure friend will enjoy it.
Way to go Jessica!
i want to can diced pears. not sure when they are ripe enough to can. can i used diced pears in the same way as sugarless whole or half pears?
Thank you. This is very helpful. I like the no sugar option very much.
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I prefer using the pressure cooker, how long would I pressure them and at what pressure? I am referring to the canned pears of today’s newsletter.
I am even lazier than you, uh, more efficient. As we generally eat our pears on toast or pancakes or waffles, I simply press the quartered pears down into the jars until the space is all used up. just pears, no air except at the top, and no water. That way, the flavor of the pears is not washed into the canning water. they come out tasting very close to fresh. They last at least over a year, and, as food should be eaten within that time for best nutrition, I am happy! This is my second year of using this method and we are still finishing up the pears from last year, which look perfect still.
Thanks for this blog, I am always learning something!
Another way of canning pears without sugar which I’ve been doing for 40 years is in pineapple juice. Buy it in large cans. Not only are the pears delicious but they are beautiful in the jars with that pineapple juice. Plus you can drink the juice after eating the pears!
Try Pomona’ s Universal Pectin for low sugar canning. We love it!
My mother always canned when I was growing up. Then I worked in an office and never did it myself. After retirement , I started canning and love the way it looks and tastes. I use very little sugar and it tastes great on applesauce or peaches. I also can tomatoes. Its so relaxing and tastes so wonderful. Plan to use your advise on canning pears. Loved the comments.
Try adding 1/2 slim slice of lemon to your pint jar. Keeps the pears white and adds a nice tang to the pears and juice. My Mother did this and I have been doing it for years.
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I just finished canning my pears with a half inch of head room and after they sat over night the liquid level dropped about 2 inches. Is this safe to store on shelf. Thanks
In my canning class we were told the peelings on fruit contain a large amount of bacteria, and that’s why we should take it off before canning.
That and chemicals! I would be very leery of eating any canned fruit with the skin intact. I was taught to peel, core, and remove all blemishes.
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I have eaten pears that were canned for 6 years and they were very good.They were pretty in the jars,
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My friend likes fried green pears. I will try them sometime.
Awesome how do you preserve plums
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I get enough Bosc pears from my one tree to can 5 or 6 jars. The Bosc, although ugly are quite firm and just perfect when peeled and sliced into quarter lengths. This cold bath technique works beautifully for me.I Mix and boil 1/2 water and 1/2 juice from my Gravenstein apples, which are harvested earlier, made into cider and frozen. I add cardamom and cinnamon sticks to some of them.These come out firm enough to make rustic tarts, but also soft enough to add to yogurt.
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I use a pressure canner, how long would you pressure can the pears for. I have been thinking about not peeling them because it really is time consuming!!
our family has blood sugar issues so I can in either organic apple or white grape juice from Trader Joe’s. The canned fruit tastes more like fresh fruit. Never had a jar go bad.
My best hint for pears is to clean a large drill bit and drill use it to core the pears.
Laughing so hard. This sounds exactly like something my husband would do, anything to use his tools.
thank you theprairiehomestead for giving me wonderful information
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Can this work for Asian pears?
All reputable resources (nchfp, USDA, ball/bernardin) require peeling to lessen the bacterial load before canning. I’m curious what resource you found in your research would indicate otherwise?
Due to shortages this year 2021; this is the first time I have purchased canning jars with lids and rings made in China. While the jars & lids were OK (no issues). Some rings popped off even before I started canning.
This is the first time I have ever had a ring pushed-up & popped-off by the fruit in the jar, while processing in the water-bath canner. If you compare rings & jars made in America to the ones made in China; you will find they are very different. I thought I had the China made rings on tight; but, when the heat from the water made the metal ring expand (the grooves in the rings are not deep enough) & allowed the ring to pop-off. American made rings are easier to thread-on & the grooves in the threads will never allow the ring to pop off.
Due to my experience this year with China made rings; I recommend you only use American made rings especially in a pressure canner, to avoid severe disappointment in the canning process.
One more reason to buy American; better design & better results that you can count on!!
I got a new propane stove this year & I am learning how to use it. After my first try to can fruit in quarts this year, I ended up with less liquid in the jars than I should have. My husband & I had a discussion about boiling the jars during the canning. He said that if the rolling boil on the outside of the jar is too vigorous, it will overheat the liquid on the inside of the jar, turning the liquid in the jar into steam & then flashing off (emptying the jar). So I turned down the heat some, but still allowed for a good boil; the result is less liquid lost.
Thank you!
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Hi can you do the apples the same way as the pears bath thank you
Check out Jill’s recipe for canning apples here: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2019/09/canning-apple-slices.html Or, you can search for how to safely can apples from one of the resources here: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2020/07/the-best-canning-resources.html