how to get the jars full?

[wsmoak]

We put up quarts of peach slices and I stuffed the jars as full as I could... but once they are processed and cooled, the jars are only 2/3 full.

Is there a trick to this?

-Wendy

 

[Ridgerunner]

I assume you are talking about the peaches floating in the liquid, not the liquid being only 2/3 full.

I think the biggest trick is to change what you can, accept what you can't change, and know the difference. I have the same problem. Just pack them as tight as you can, release the air bubbles, maybe repack and adjust the head space, then accept it. If you do the best you can, you have done the best you can.

I'll be interested in what others say but I have not been real successful in getting them to be full after processing.

 

[wsmoak]

Correct, the jars are still full of liquid, but the peaches only take up 2/3 of the jar after processing. I just wondered if that was normal.

I think it's just because the peaches get softer after 'cooking' during processing. I bet the pears will come out a bit better, they don't soften as much.

-Wendy

 

[i_am2bz]

I've seen that before, too...an inch of juice/water at the bottom of the jar, with tomatoes floating above that. :/

 

[hangin'witthepeeps]

Wendy I would be interested in your pear canning recipe. I'm going to can pears for the first time this year. We normally make a pear/pepper relish for beans and can it. I loved pear half in the store bought cans, so why not homemade? We have 3 - 40 year old pear trees. They make a ton each year.

Thanks, Melissa

 

[cityfarmer]

My peaches do the same thing. When I talked to a lady who I work with who does a lot of canning, she says it is normal. Pears will shrink some as well but not as much as peaches.

 

[hoodat]

The good news is that the peach nectar is delicious. Try putting some in a bowl and floating a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it. YUMMMM!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

My wife finished a jar of peaches today. I drank the juice as dessert after lunch. Yeah, it was good.

 

[wsmoak]

Wendy I would be interested in your pear canning recipe. I'm going to can pears for the first time this year. We normally make a pear/pepper relish for beans and can it. I loved pear half in the store bought cans, so why not homemade? We have 3 - 40 year old pear trees. They make a ton each year.

Well.... I was just going to make a simple syrup and pour it over the pears, same as I do for peaches (those turned out fine.)

I did a test jar today since the squirrels have announced that the pears are ready by throwing half-eaten ones on the ground. I just did the boiling syrup, put a lid and ring on it and let it cool, then stuck it in the fridge.

So far, I am not impressed! They don't taste like anything, certainly not like canned pears from the store, which I bet are a different variety. Maybe processing would have 'cooked' it and softened it a bit more... I didn't want to set up the hot water bath for a single jar.

I have no idea what kind these are... the tree was here when I bought the place, along with its companion Bradford pear, presumably for pollination.

Anybody know what this is?

-Wendy

 

[hoodat]

Looks like a Bartlett. Does it have sort of a grainy texture? Those are great canning pears but never soften like the ones used in commercial canning. There are lots of ways to use them besides straight canning. There are relishes, pickles and in the South they often can them as honey pears; a thick syrup that makes them really sweet. They are eaten more like candy than fruit. When I thinned mine in the Spring I wouldn't discard the small pears I was picking; instead I would pickle them whole as sweet pickles. I just used a cuke pickle recipe. They are't the greatest pear for eating out of hand. They never really ripen on the tree. You have to store them for that.
BTW don't try water bath canning them unless you add lemon juice. They don't have enough acid of their own to be safe in a water bath.