There is an old, old pear tree on our neighbors place and they were kind enough to share with us again this year. Last year there were a lot of pears, but due to the very hot, dry conditions, they were pretty small. We made our first pear butter out of them. This year there are still a lot of pears, not as many as last year, but they are almost three times as big! And, we got three times as many! We thank God daily for all that He provides for us.
Our goal is to can pear slices and more pear butter. The butter will make great Christmas presents and we can share with some of the older folks at church that don't can anymore.
We found out last year that collecting pears was much easier if we shook the limb and let them fall to the ground. This may cause a little bruising, but the ground has a fairly thick layer of grass that cushions the fall and this technique was much easier on our bodies that working from a ladder. Finding alternative ways to do things increases our productivity and success in many different ways.
This year we decided to take our shepherd's crook with us to see if we could shake the lower limbs with it. It worked great!
In some places, the grass is tall enough to make it almost like an Easter egg hunt.
Without using the ladder at all, we filled up all 6 of our five gallon buckets. Some are still pretty green. I will let them sit for a few days before I start peeling and slicing for canning.
I am so excited and grateful to be able to put up some more nourishing fruit. And one of the best things about these is, I know they haven't been sprayed with anything or fertilized with anything accept the occasional gift from a passing cow. These are as pure as they can be. Yum!!
I will let you see how they all turn out. It will round out our pantry with peaches and pears going into winter and that is another very satisfying feeling. This is another activity that will be completed while teaching at school, dealing with the fall garden, milking, blogging and being a wife. It is part of what increases the peace and contentment I talked about a few days ago. Keep doing whatever you need to do to increase your preparedness, both for you and your family. It will bring untold blessings.
Until next time - Fern
My pear trees have yet to produce pear one! We only planted them four years ago, so that's one thing. I've recently been wondering about chilling hours too. Your pear harvest looks fantastic. What a treat.
ReplyDeleteWe had a very good year with our Pears! We had a mix of nice sized and small.
ReplyDeleteThe small were used for pear sauce.
The pears you have look great! Enjoy!
Fran,
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 15 I was tasked with watching pears cook for pear preserves while my mother did other chores. Unfortunately, I started reading a book (a usual occurrence for me), and the next time I checked the pears, they were a dark brown color and smelled burnt. My mother was livid at the possible loss of all this fruit and sugar, and said that we couldn't afford to throw the batch of pears out and we ended up canning them anyway. When we finally got around to opening the first jar, boy! were we surprised. They were the most delicious pears we ever tasted. The syrup had turned into a dark rich sauce with the consistency of thick honey. We called this delicious accident "Burnt Pears". For years afterwards, I searched the jelly row at the grocery store for a similar produce to no avail. Last year I received three plastic grocery bags of pears from a member of my church and I immediately set about trying to find a recipe that would approximate my "Burnt Pears". I found a very simple recipe on Cooks.com called Amber Pears. I just let the pot cook a little longer until the syrup reached the color I was looking for. The results were amazing and my six pints of "Burnt Pears" were gone in a few months. If you are ever looking for an alternative way to can pears, I highly recommend this recipe. Best eaten on crusty biscuits and toast, they can also be served on pancakes, over ice cream, etc. Good luck with you pears adventure this week. Yummy Yummy.
Hi Katy,
DeleteThanks for the pointer on a new recipe.
Fern
What size pressure canner do you use since you can so much? I have been looking to get my first. Just wondering. I love your blog and read it daily. Thanks so much for fitting it in during your busy days.
ReplyDeleteWe use an All American 921 which holds 16 wide mouth pints or 7 wide mouth quarts. The manual indicates it will hold 19 pints and 7 quarts, but it doesn't differentiate between regular and wide mouth.
DeleteThis is a great canner. It does not require a rubber gasket, so that is one less thing that might wear out in the long run. If you look for one online, shop around. Some places carry it for much less than others.
Thank you for reading. I hope you can find something useful here.
Fern
Thank you for the information! We borrowed a canner to use for the first time and couldn't get the pressure up and guess what....it was missing the gasket. That is why I was looking at the All American. Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome!
DeleteFern
Have you thought about making pear sauce? You make it just like applesauce, and it is delicious.
ReplyDeleteLast year we made pear butter without any thickening agent so it more the consistency of apple sauce. It was great, and we plan to do the same again this year. I have also heard that pear honey is good, but we haven't tried it.
DeleteFern