Today my project was to get the bushel of pears that's been sitting on my counter (since Wednesday!) canned. I figured I'd make a huge batch of pear sauce rather than canning pear halves since my kids like it much better. I didn't figure on the peeling and coring and quartering taking me almost 2 hours.
A bushel is a lot of pears, let me tell you.
(I'm not complaining, though: I got the whole thing for just $14, thanks to a friend's connections!)
I had to borrow my mom's stockpot because none of my pots were going to come close to what I needed for this endeavor!
Several hours of simmering later, the house smelled amazing and I was ready to get the pear-sauce processed. I've only canned jam so far, so this was all trial and error.
The bad news was that I overfilled my canning pot and when I submerged the first batch of quart-sized jars, I overflowed boiling water all over my stove. Yes, I got burned. But fortunately nobody died and nothing was lost in the process.
And the good news?
Every single jar came out looking beautiful and with the instantaneous (and lovely-- to this ear, anyway!) "popping" sound that says the job is done.
The bad news was that I overfilled my canning pot and when I submerged the first batch of quart-sized jars, I overflowed boiling water all over my stove. Yes, I got burned. But fortunately nobody died and nothing was lost in the process.
And the good news?
Every single jar came out looking beautiful and with the instantaneous (and lovely-- to this ear, anyway!) "popping" sound that says the job is done.
Ahhhh...
Yummy! That looks really tasty right now!
ReplyDeleteWhere did you end up getting the pears? Did you add anything to the pears?
ReplyDeleteAhh, yes, the popping sound. I know it well. I will not get any canning done this year, I'm afraid. But I plan to do some next year. My favorites are tomatoes (done several ways) and some meats. They are great for stews and mexixan dishes. I do love applesuace. Other than that, I want to get serious about freezing vegetables. As of now, we don't have the freezer space. But in time! Way to go! My mom always swears there is no greater feeling than seeing sheves of canned goods (your own). It is surely an endeavor to be proud of!
ReplyDeleteThe real sense of satisfaction comes in January when there is nothing fresh to be had in the grocery store. You pop one of those jars open and it smells just as fresh and delicious as it does right now. Glad it worked well for you!
ReplyDelete@LisaMCriscitello - I added some turbinado and cinnamon. Yum!@MrsNelsonAndMamma2 - You'd better not be canning-- just enjoy your time with Matt!!
ReplyDeleteIf you're going to continue canning you might think of investing in one of these. No coring or peeling required. You just halve the fruit, put in it water and once it's soft you put it through the strainer. Core, peel, seeds come out one end and smooth sauce comes out the other. Back when the kids were little I used to can over 100 quarts of applesauce, it made the job much easier. I love the popping sound as well as the nice, full, gleaming jars all lined up on the counter. I haven't done much in the way of preserving this year, I've been busy trying to cook in bulk to help with getting meals on the table now that I'm at work again and the busy fall season has arrived, but I do plan on making applesauce this weekend. Such fun!
ReplyDelete@mom2mkei_2 - Yes, I've already been assembling my "wish list" pertaining to food preservation. This year I invested in all the basic canning tools; in future years I hope to build on it.The goal for this weekend is to get out apple picking with the kids (me + 4 young kids apple picking sounds both fun and scary-- unfortunately it's raining today on Daniel's day off when he could join us!) so I can can and freeze lots of apples. I'm tempted to get lots of apples ($16/bushel is such a good price!), but I'm thinking 2 bushels will probably be all I can process on my own without fancy tools to help me in the process...
ReplyDeleteYour daughter is a picture of you, there is no denying her little face. so so cute
ReplyDeleteWow. You blow me away. 4 children and pregnant and still canning.
ReplyDeletePears are my favorite fruit and I have never seen/heard of pear sauce. If I lived up there I just might have to drop by your house and beg for a taste.Great job!This brings back memories of my Grandmother (dad's side). She always had tons of canned goods in the cellar. Shelves full of anything you could imagine...except pear sauce.
I want to go apple picking. I just can't find any place around here that's not more gimmick than apples. And if it's not gimmick, it's super expensive organic heirloom varieties. *sigh* There are some things about the good ol' North Country that you've just gotta love. Like, you know, honest, old fashioned people and bargains.
ReplyDeleteThere is a place in Norwood that has apples for $8 a bushel. It's on Plumbrook Road and called Shine's or Shineys.
ReplyDeleteWhat equipment do you currently have for canning? You said you overfilled your canning pot? What kind do you have? I'm in the market for some canning supplies myself with apple season being here. What do you suggest one buys? Also, what's your "recipe" for pear sauce? How much sugar/cinnamon do you put in?
ReplyDeleteAnd--you got burned?!?!?! I HATE getting burned. I used to think during my first couple years of marriage that the kitchen was attacking me because everytime I would set out to make something like a nice fall dinner or apple butter I would get burned... I'm getting the hang of it now. Are you ok?? I hate when people get burned....it makes me sad!
Your pearsauce looks great!!!
@Jackie - Do you know what kinds they're selling? And do you have a phone # for them?@MrsRYoung - I bought a basic canning pot from Walmart (for around $18, I think). At first I didn't think it would work on my glass-top stove, but it's been fine. It came with the rack that lowers and lifts the jars (it was in the lowering that I burned myself because I overfilled the pot with water, not taking into consideration the mass of quart-sized jars as opposed to pint-sized, which is what I used for jam). Then I also bought the Ball canning utensils kit at Walmart (same shelf, basically, for about $6, I think), which included the funnel for filling the jars, the jar lifter (very important since it's basically otherwise impossible to get the jars in and out of the water without burning yourself), the magnetic wand for getting the boiled/sterilized lids/bands out of the small pot, and a special tool that helps you easily measure headspace in the jars so you know you filled them the right amount. It was all worth it! I'd like to get fancier tools for peeling/coring and processing fruit in the future, but for now I've got what I *need*.As for a recipe: I peeled, cored, and quartered the pears. Threw them in a pot with about 1" of water on the bottom. Let it simmer for HOURS so that it got soft and mushy. Mushed a bit more with a masher (we like our applesauce and pear-sauce chunky!). Added some raw sugar and cinnamon to taste. And that was it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the great information and links on facebook! I really appreciate it since the whole world of canning can get pretty creative and expensive. And a beginner like me gets sucked into the whole...you NEED this and you NEED that...thing that websites do to make you spend the big bucks! Last year after we went apple picking I froze our apples to make apple pies during Thanksgiving but this year I would like to pick even more and can them for applesauce. I can't wait, that is if I can start getting over my sickness and get our to the orchard!!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the pearsauce recipe! I hope I get a chance to try it soon!