Pears!

[MontyJ]

I have always canned pears while they are still green and hard. As long as they are close enough to ripe to be sweet and taste good when I peel one to eat fresh, I'm good to go! My personal experience as far as canning goes, if they are yellow and ripe, then they will be slightly mushy in the jar. If the pears are green and hard, then they are firmer in the jar. But being as beggars can't be choosers, I'll take both and deal with it.

Good info Ridgerunner, I never knew that about chilling the pears. That "perfect window" of ripeness at my house means that something WILL go all WRONG on that "perfect ripeness" day and the chickens will get the semi-rotten pears. Better for me to can the green ones.

 

[seedcrazy]

What do you do if you dont' know what kind of pears they are? LOL

 

[baymule]

What do you do if you dont' know what kind of pears they are? LOL

You just call them PEARS and eat 'em anyway!

 

[Smart Red]

What do you do if you dont' know what kind of pears they are? LOL

Eat them, dry them, cook and can them. . . what difference does knowing the name make? If they taste good use them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If I didnt know what kind they were Id probably try to match photos with varieties online or in a nursery catalogue, like Stark Bros. But thats just to get a clue.

Id probably put them in the fridge for a couple of weeks and take some out to ripen. Leave some in longer before you take them out. I think two weeks is the shortest cooling period for any of them. Just see how they do. Experiment a little and see what works for you. A lot of this is not a real exact science.

 

[seedcrazy]

HAHA yep, I will eat them for sure even if I don't know, my neighbor has a tree loaded down and she begs me to take as many as I want.

 

[seedcrazy]

I did just read this which I thought was interesting.

Choose firm, unblemished pears for canning. It is best to use ones that are slightly underripe, though not completely hard. Overly ripe fruit is more likely to float in the jars, and also has a lower acid content. It is the naturally present acidity of the pears that helps to preserve them, not the canning liquid.