How I spent my weekend…..preserving pears! We have two pear trees which produce a HUGE amount of fruit. This weekend I could not delay it any longer, it was finally time to do something with all the pears.
About two weeks ago Josh picked a wheelbarrow full of pears. We are still mastering the art of these pears. When you pick them they are still very firm, as in nearly rock hard. The boys love to eat them this way. On the weekends when they play outside all day they can easily eat five a day, EACH! That means 15 pears a day!
Yet somehow I still had so many left to preserve. I did some research and discovered that you are supposed to put them at about freezing for one day and then let ripen at room temp for 5-7 days. We tried the freezer, too cold. So the fridge it was. After a day of chilling I put them in a laundry basket and let them ripen in the bonus room, locked so the boys would stay away! I did this in three batches since obviously they wouldn’t all fit in the fridge at once.
The mad house began yesterday morning. I sterilized jars and lids. I peeled and sliced pears. First I made a batch of pear sauce. The boys could eat this forever. They like it plain, in yogurt or better yet warmed and over vanilla ice cream. Anyway, it was a bit disappointing to get only 3 quarts for all my effort and a burn on my wrist!
The next batch would have to wait. I still hadn’t had a shower, I needed to fix lunch and the boys would need a bath. They played outside all morning which means they were covered in dirt. I had a birthday party to take them to right after lunch!
After the party it was back to work. I made another batch of pear sauce and got another 3 plus quarts. I also sterilized more jars and lids for the next day. Jack enjoyed his pear sauce for his dessert, he had several servings.
This morning it was another busy day. This time I preserved sliced pears. At least I got more for my work, but still, it seems like so much work for not enough results. I will never understand people who enjoy preserving! I only do it because I must. Small batch jams and such are another story, I don’t mind that. This weekend’s work resulted in 10 quarts of sliced pears and 6 quarts of pear sauce.
The day is done and I still have another basket of pears. I plan to bake with some, but that still leaves quite a few….plus there are still some on the trees…..
Feeding My 3 Sons 
That photo certainly reminds me of Mom’s kitchen when I was a boy. She, too, was a canner and with 3 kids, I don’t know how she did it — or you, either. I do some canning but it’s mostly jams and the like. I wouldn’t even attempt 1 batch of pears, let alone 2 or 3. Then again, come January, you’ll be opening up a jar of your delicious pears while I’m opening a can that I bought from a store. I wonder which of us will be the happier consumer? 🙂
The key to canning with three active boys is to kick them out of the house! Just be prepared for a deep cleaning bath and laundry since they will be covered in dirt when they finally come in. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the week!
I can empathise with you BIG TIME: I had a load of pears and stewed them all with sugar. Like yours they were hard, but cooked down beautifully and turned a salmon pink. They’re all in the freezer now waiting to be used in pies and crumbles etc. I now have about 20kg of apples to deal with! AAAhhhh! I’ve never tried preserving so maybe I’ll give it a go? Thanks!
Good luck with the apples. At least they keep longer than pears! Apples are easy here, the boys LOVE homemade applesauce.
Yes, it’s hard to beat isn’t it? 🙂
I love my pears very firm and nearly rock hard too. I enjoy digging in and I can easily eat five or six, but as soon as they become soft I can’t stand them anymore. I would probably eat the pear sauce in yoghurt or with ice cream. I don’t really mind that. I always love the way you can just research and make a lot of things. I have never made any preserves of anything. I think I’m too lazy and it’s probably not really time consuming as I imagine. One of these fine days I should take cue from you. Thanks so much for sharing. Have a lovely evening.
The boys certainly enjoy the pear sauce! Thanks for stopping by!