Homemade Pear Honey

A sweet homemade nectar like pear honey that makes wonderful fall gifts, especially during the holidays. Pear Honey gets its name "honey" by the color it turns after it's prepared. This pear honey is wonderful spread on toast or biscuits. 

Today I tried my hand at making Homemade Pear Honey. I have to say it was easier than I thought it would be. The hardest part was peeling and chopping all those fresh pears. I've been wanting to make pear honey ever since I got my first taste of it at my mother in laws house. 

She had a jar hanging out in the refrigerator, so I added some to my toast and it was love at first bite. I asked her where in the world she got that jar of homemade pear honey? She told me that it was given to her from her friends grandmother. 

I wondered if she could get the recipe, but she told me her friends grandmother was in ill health and wasn't canning anymore pear honey. It was on that day that that I began my hunt for a tried and true pear honey recipe. 

A couple days ago my oldest son had brought me a big bag of fresh pears that his grandmother had gave to him to give to me. I was shocked at all those pear and wasn't sure what to do with all of them. 

I immediately thought of that delicious pear honey. We ate a few of the pears just because we couldn't resist and saved the rest to make pear honey. I had remembered seeing a recipe in Paula Deen's "Lady & Son's Cookbook" for pear honey.

It was a simple recipe that wasn't filled with any special ingredients, just pears, sugar, crushed pineapple and lemon juice. I've been wanting to get a jump on canning to use as gifts for the upcoming holidays, so this pear honey is perfect. Let's get started. 

Start by peeling and chopping or slicing the pears. I used my apple peeler for this part. It peels, cores and slices the pears. Add the pieces to a large bowl and continue peeling and slicing the remainder of the apples. 

Some of my pears were a bit firm so I cooked them in some water first to soften them. 

Bring the water and apples to a boil and reduce heat and simmer until the pears are soft. 

Drain off the water and return the pot to the stove top. 

Add the sugar, crushed pineapple, and lemon juice. Mix to combine. 

Bring the pear mixture to a full rolling boil, reduce heat and simmer until the pears start to break down and the mixture starts to thicken up (about 30-45 minutes). 

Using an immersion blender, blend the pears until smooth. Continue cooking the pear honey until it reduces down and the temperature reaches 220 degrees on a candy thermometer.  

Turn off heat and set aside. 

Fill your water bath canner with hot water and turn on the heat to about medium. 

Ladle the hot pear honey into jars leaving a 1/4 inch headspace. 

Clean the rims of the jars with a paper towel dipped in white vinegar to remove any residue and to ensure you will have a clean seal. Add a ring to each jar and tighten to finger tip tight. 

Add the jars to the canner and lower the rack into the canner. Add more water if the jars are not covered. You need at least 1 inch of water to cover the jars. Bring the water to a boil, reduce heat to a low boil and add the lid to the pot. Process pints for 10 minutes and half pints for 5. 

When the processing time is complete, remove the jars to a towel and cool. You will start to hear the jars popping that means they are sealing. Leave the jars undisturbed for at least 12 hours. After 12 hours remove the rings wash the jars and rims and store in a cool pantry.  

adapted from: The Lady & Sons Cookbook