Southern Style Pear Preserves Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Peel, core, and slice pears into 1/2 to 3/4 inch pieces, then measure out 8 cups.
• 2. In a stock pot mix pears with the 5 cups of sugar and 1/4 cup of lemon juice. Gently combine all. Let set in pot over night, cover with light towel or single layer of sheeting material.
• 3. Next morning, put stock pot of pears on med/low stove burner. Stir gently to mix. Juices from pears, lemon juice, and sugar will have made a liquid over night. Bring to a low boil. Turn down to simmer and cook slowly 3 to 4 hours or until pears are clear and pink and syrup thickens. More sugar may be added once cup at a time during last part of cooking process until desired thickness is reached. Be careful not to add too much sugar, just gently stir often and observe.
• 4. Have jars and lids sterlized in boiling water. 8 1/2 pint jars and 8 lids. Leave on simmer.
• 5. When desired doneness is reached, remove from heat; stir in brown sugar, ginger,allspice, and nutmeg.
• 6. Fill sterlized jars to 1/2 inch of top, wipe off rim of jar with a wet cloth to remove any syrup that may have dripped on rim. Top with lids and rings, tighten firmly.
• 7. Process jars in boiling water 10 minutes to seal, (water should be heating while filling jars). Store in cool, dry, place away from direct light. Makes about seven 1/2 pint jars.

Steps:

• In a stockpot, combine pears, sugar, water and lemon juice; bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until mixture reaches a thick, spreadable consistency. , Remove from heat. Ladle hot mixture into seven hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight., Place jars into canner, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

Steps:

• Sterilize jars and lids in boiling water for at least 10 minutes. Let simmer while making jam.
• In a large saucepan, combine pears, water, and lemon juice. Cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in pectin, and bring to a full boil. Stir in the white sugar, and continue boiling and stirring uncovered for 1 minute, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, and stir in brown sugar, allspice, and nutmeg.
• Quickly fill jars to within 1/2 inch of the top. Wipe rims clean, and top with lids. Process jars in boiling water for 10 minutes to seal.

Steps:

• Day 1:.
• Peel and core pears. Slice or dice into pieces of desired size.
• Place pears in a large bowl and add an equal amount of sugar by weight (e.g. 4 lbs of pears = 4 lbs of sugar) Add juice of one lemon. Zest is optional, but adds a nice flavor. Stir gently to distribute sugar. Leave in refrigerator overnight. Stir several times to coat fruit with syrup.
• Day 2:.
• Place pears and syrup in a large pot. Bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer and cook an additional 15-20 minutes until pears are translucent and candied. Turn off heat and leave pears in syrup overnight (no need to refrigerate). Place a clean dish towel under pot lid to prevent condensation.
• Day 3:.
• Remove pears from syrup, straining all syrup back into the pot. Bring syrup to a boil and cook to desired thickness (usually around 220 degrees). Test doneness by dropping syrup onto a frozen plate. It should gel almost immediately. When ready add pears back to syrup and remove from heat. Stir gently for approximately 10 minutes as preserves cool. This will keep the fruit distributed in the syrup and prevent it floating to the top of your jars.
• Place preserves in sterilized jars leaving 1/2 inch of head space. If packing hot jars, process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes. For cold jars, process 10 minutes.
• Leave jars undisturbed for 24 hours to cool and set. Enjoy!

Steps:

• 1. Peel and core pears; cut the pieces into bite-sized chunks or half that size if you plan on using this more for sandwiches. Discard peel and cores.
• 2. Place sugar, lemon juice and water in a heavy-bottomed pot at least four times as deep as what fills it; stir well until all sugar has dissolved (important!)
• 3. Add pears and bring mixture slowly to the very beginnings of a slow, gentle boil, stirring occasionally as it heats. When it begins to boil, drop the heat down to a low simmer and lid the pot.
• 4. Stir OFTEN, making sure that the preserves do not burn (and they will, given a chance! But don't stir too enthusiastically unless you're wanting this to be more for sandwiches.) Sometimes more water is needed depending on the dryness of the pears; if they seem to be getting too thick and sticky, add a little. It will all cook down.
• 5. NOTE: Cooking-time given is variable! What you're waiting for is for the pears to turn translucent; they should deepen in color somewhat also, depending on the type of pear used (some become a golden brown, some remain pale.) When they've become translucent and the liquid with them has thickened to the consistency of thin syrup, remove from heat.
• 6. Pour the mixture evenly into heated, sterile canning jars; as this is NOT a lesson in canning, I won't go into all the specifics of canning the preserves (please look up elsewhere!) Make sure that some room is left in each jar, as preserves will expand.
• 7. If serving in proper NW Florida style, keep a jar in the fridge at all times and occasionally serve along with baked chicken, turkey, ham or any other meal with a lot of meat; the cold sweetness is welcome.