Ma maw's Old Fashioned Pear Preserves

An Old Fashioned pear preserve recipe made with fresh pears, thinly sliced lemon and lots of sugar. Pear preserves are the perfect recipe if you have an abundance of fresh pears.  

Happy Wednesday friends!!  Today I have a delicious old fashioned Pear Preserve recipe to share with you. Canning and preserving is one of my favorite things do at the end of the growing season. Sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming when everything is harvested at or around the same time, but I always seem to get it all done.  

I love making jam, jellies, pickles, fruit butters, tomato relish , squash relish and pear honey, so I can continue to enjoy my seasonal harvest all year long.  This delicious pear preserves recipe was passed down to me from my aunt which her mother passed down to her. I enjoyed these delicious preserves years ago and I'm so thankful to finally have the recipe.     

This was my first time preparing and canning pear preserves and they turned out wonderful. If you've never had pear preserves it's like eating little pieces of warm pear candy and they're wonderful served on toast and hot homemade biscuits. This recipe requires you to use pears that are more on the unripe side as they hold their shape and won't fall apart, but no worries because the pears will soften as they cook.

I used Kieffer pears that my neighbor had given me off of their pear tree. Hopefully my pear trees will start producing in a year or so and then I can have my own pears to can. This preserve recipe is simple to make and only calls for a handful of ingredients pears, lemon, lots of sugar, time and patience. It takes a while to make these preserves, but the end result yields delicious, slow cooked, sweet preserves! I hope you and your family enjoy our family does. 

Wash, peel, core and slice pears, I used my apple peeler and it works wonderful and slices the pears as well. 

Add 2 quarts of sliced pears to a large stainless steel pot and add 1  1/2 cups of sugar. Keep adding the pears in 2 quart quantities along with 1  1/2 cups sugar until all of the slices pears have been added.  Add the sliced lemons and put the lid on top of the pear mixture. Let the pears sit overnight (at room temperature) about 12 hours. The sugar will pull the juice from the pears and in the morning you will have pear slices in syrup, ready to cook into preserves. 

The next day the sugar will have melted and the pears and lemon slices will be floating in a sweet syrup. 

Bring the pear mixture to a good boil (do not remove the lemon slices), reduce heat to a medium simmer and let the mixture cook until the pears are very tender and translucent. You will be cooking the pears (uncovered) for about 3 hours, so stir the pear mixture occasionally.  

Cook the pears until they start to take on an amber color. 

Remove pears from the heat and if the syrup has not thickened as desired, add a 2 - 3 tablespoons of powder pectin, stir and return to heat to thicken a bit.  

Fill hot, sterilized pint size jars with the pear mixture (pack well) making sure to leave a 1/2 inch head space. 

Add a clean, sterilized lid and ring and secure. Process pints in a hot water bath canner for 15 minutes. Remove jars and place on a towel on the counter. You should hear the jars pop within 30-40 minutes which means the jars are sealed. 

Cool jars completely and leave on the counter undisturbed for 24 hours before storing in a cool, dry pantry. Store for up to one year.

Serve on toast, biscuits or scones. 

Yield: 7 -8 Pint Size Jars

Author: Tina Butler | Mommy's Kitchen

Ma Maw's Old Fashioned Pear Preserves

An Old Fashioned pear preserve recipe made with fresh pears, thinly sliced lemon and lots of sugar. Pear preserves are the perfect recipe if you have an abundance of fresh pears.

Prep time: 12 H & 30 MCook time: 3 H & 30 MTotal time: 16 Hour

Ingredients

• 6 - 8 quarts pears, peeled and sliced thin (24 - 32 cups of pears)
• 2 - lemons (thinly sliced, seeds removed)
• sugar - lots of it  (1 1/2 cups of sugar for every 2 quarts of sliced pears)
• 2 - 3 tablespoons sure gel powder pectin (only if needed)

Instructions

1. Wash, peel, core and slice pears, I used my apple peeler. Add 2 quarts of sliced pears to a large stainless steel pot and add 1 1/2 cups of sugar.
2. Keep adding the pears in 2 quart quantities along with 1 1/2 cups sugar (1 1/2 cup sugar to each 2 quarts of pears) until all of the slices pears have been added. Add the sliced lemon and put the lid on top of the pear mixture.
3. Let the pears sit overnight (at room temperature) about 12 hours. After 12 hours the sugar will melt and the pears and lemon slices will be floating in sweet syrup.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil (do not remove the lemon slices), reduce heat to a medium simmer and let the pear mixture cook (uncovered) until the pears are very tender and translucent. You will be cooking the pears for about 3 hours, so stir the pear mixture occasionally.
5. Cook the pears until they start to take on an amber color. Remove pears from the heat and if the syrup has not thickened as desired, add a 2 - 3 tablespoons of powder pectin, stir and return to heat to thicken a bit.
6. Fill hot, sterilized pint size jars with the pear mixture (pack well) making sure to leave a 1/2 inch head space.
7. Add a clean, sterilized lid and ring and secure. Process pints in a hot water bath canner for 15 minutes. Remove jars and place on a towel on the counter.
8. You should hear the jars pop within 30-40 minutes which means the jars are sealed.
9. Cool jars completely and leave on the counter undisturbed for 24 hours.
10. Store jars for up to one year in a cool, dry pantry. 

Notes:

Several people have asked or commented asking if you have to add the lemons to this recipe. The answer is yes and no. If the lemons themselves are the issue they can be omitted, but you will need to add lemon juice to the recipe (about 2 - 3 tablespoons). Lemon juice is crucial for preserve set up, safe canning and to prevent the growth of bacteria.

https://www.mommyskitchen.net/2019/01/ma-maws-old-fashioned-pear-preserves.html

Images and text © Mommy's Kitchen

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @mommyskitchen on instagram and hashtag it #mommyskitchen

This recipe is featured on Weekend Potluck 

Want to stay connected & up to date with Mommy's Kitchen? Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & Pinterest! You can also join the Mommy's Kitchen Free Email Newsletter and you'll receive an email each time, I add a new recipe or post to Mommy's Kitchen.