How to Can Pears at Home (Beginner Friendly Guide)
Canning Pears
Pears are one of the few fruits you pick while they are still green. They finish ripening off the tree, which helps them soften evenly and keeps the birds and ants away. Once they start turning a light yellow, they’re ready to peel and can.
Pears take a little time because you have to peel each one, but you don’t need to blanch them. You can can pears in syrup, honey syrup, fruit juice, or plain water. If you choose water, you’ll need to hot pack the pears so they hold their shape and don’t float.
You can also add flavor to your syrup. Cinnamon sticks, cloves, vanilla beans, or fresh mint all work well and give your jars a unique twist.
We have several canning recipes to help you eat your garden.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Canning pears is one of the easiest fruit projects for beginners. Pears peel quickly, hold their shape well, and taste incredible in light syrup or water. This method lets you preserve a big basket of pears at once so you can enjoy them in crisps, cobblers, oatmeal, smoothies, or straight from the jar. It’s simple, reliable, and perfect for anyone building a practical homestead pantry.
What You’ll Learn
- What to do with overripe pears
- How to pick pears at the right stage
- Why pears ripen after picking
- How to prep pears for canning
- When to raw pack and when to hot pack
- How to flavor your syrup
Ingredients:
- Pears
- Sugar
- Water
Frequently Asked Questions
Do pears need to be ripe before canning?
You can use pears that are ripe, but slightly under‑ripe pears are easier to peel and hold their shape better. Look for pears that are just turning light yellow. Unless they are soft when picked, pears do not ripen fully until after harvest.
Can you raw pack pears?
Yes. Raw packing works well when you use a sweetened liquid like sugar syrup, honey syrup, or fruit juice. If you want to can pears in plain water, you’ll need to hot pack them by briefly cooking the pears before filling your jars.
What can you do with overripe pears?
Overripe pears make the best pear sauce. It cooks down just like applesauce and tastes amazing.
Should pears be picked before or after they ripen?
Pick pears before they ripen. They will ripen together in your baskets, and you won’t have to worry about birds pecking them or ants getting into them.
Canning Pears at Home
Equipment
Ingredients
- pears
- sugar
- water
Instructions
- Boil the jar lids to sterilize (until the water boils) or clean on sanitize mode in your dishwasher.
- In a separate pot, add 1 cup sugar to 5 cups water (for light syrup). 3 cups sugar to 5 cups water (for medium syrup). 4 cups sugar to 4 cups water (for heavy syrup). Bring to simmer.
- Place 2 quarts water in a large bowl with 3 round tablespoons of fruit fresh (citric acid) and blend.
- Peel and remove the skin of the pear.
- Cut into half or quarters, remove any seeds, and place into bowl of water/fruit fresh mix.
- Drain the pears from the water and place into your canning jars.
- Fill the jars, leaving 1 inch head space.syrup solution (instead of water)
- Add syrup to the jars.
- You can twist/tip the jars gently to get the air bubbles out or use a butter knife to remove the bubbles.
- Clean the top of the jar and place the lid and ring on the jar and tighten slightly.
- Place the jars in the canner with hot water above the jars and cover.
- Allow the water begins to boil, keep the jars in water bath for 25 minutes for quarts or 20 minutes for pints.
- Remove the jars and place on the counter to cool.
- Place the date and what is in the jar with a permanent marker.
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