Canning Pears: project 30 of 52

We love pears! My boys love them with lunch or especially with toast in the morning. Even more than peaches, which is not a big surprise, my family was the same was growing up. The pears never stayed around for long. So when pears showed up to get with Bountiful Baskets last week I decided to get a couple of boxes. I usually get some from my aunt and uncle who get them from Caldwell, Idaho. These were from California and I have to say, although they are good they were not nearly as tasty and sweet as the Idaho pears. Now, I just need to test the Utah pears to determine a true winner. ;-)

Of course once they are bottled the boys don't know the difference and don't really care. They just love them all around.

If you have ever bottled fruit you know it can get a bit sticky. You have to make the syrup, peel and core the fruit and get it in the bottles before the fruit starts to turn brown or else let it sit in a brine. Well, not here! A couple of years ago my aunt shared her secret- mixing the syrup in the bottle.

It's a 1:4 ratio

1/4 cup sugar plus

1 cup hot water.

pour it into the bottle and stir to disolve the sugar. Then you can peel the fruit and place it directly in the bottle. When you have 7 bottles full, start the water bath, then onto the next 7 bottles. WOW! It made things go so much smoother. Plus if your house is like mine interuptions happen non-stop. Now if I get interupted it is easier to find a stopping point without much hassle.

Another added bonus is the syrup is very light. The fruit is sweet enough without a heavy syrup that the Kerr canning book calls for. Give it a try and you won't go back to making your syrup any other way.

Yeah, they look pretty don't they. I think I ended up with about 45 bottles. 

Sharing at Keeping it Simple