I picked up a few pears last week and as it turned out nobody ate them. So this morning I decided to turn the rather ripe pears into a batch of yummy homemade jam.
This was a first for me as I don’t think I have ever canned anything with pears before. If you have never made pear jam before {or if you have a few pears sitting on your kitchen counter} then you need to give this recipe a try.
Canning 101: How to Make Pear Jam
Ingredients
4cups prepared fruit (buy about 3 lb. fully ripe pears)
2Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1box SURE-JELL Fruit Pectin
5cups sugar, measured into separate bowl (see tip below)
1/2 tsp. butter or margarine
Instructions
BRING boiling-water canner, half full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.
PEEL and core pears. Finely grind or chop fruit. Measure exactly 4 cups prepared fruit into 6- or 8-qt. saucepot. Stir in lemon juice.
STIR in pectin. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn’t stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar; stir. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.
LADLE immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with 2-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely.
After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)
Notes
Looking for a few more canning recipes? Search my Full List of Canning Recipes
Looking for a good canning book? Here’s a list of my favorites:
- Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
- The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook
- Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It
- Food in Jars
- The Amish Canning Cookbook
- Not Your Mama’s Canning Book
Also, check out these tutorials if you’ve never used a canner before:
Tutorial: Hot Water Bath Canning
Tutorial: How to Use a Pressure Canner
Heather S. says
Sounds super yummy and one of my boys really loves pears. I think I’ll have to try this one! Just a reminder for those in high elevations, boil it a little longer at the end (it should say the amount of time to add on the pectin box).
Stacie M. says
Yum! I got a huge basket of drop pears at the farmer’s market one year and made a crap-ton of pear butter, which is just like apple butter. So tasty!
nancy says
my mom used to make pear honey. i loved it as did everyone else in the family. my favorite topping for toast. delish.
Melissa says
Do you add any water to the fruit?? What liquid makes it bowl? Also how long does it take for it to gel once canned?
Melissa says
Boil not bowl
Amanda H. says
The juice from the pears themselves is what boils, I chopped mine in a food processor. It came out perfectly!
Deborah says
That is a great idea to use the food processor. I used the chopper I use to chop and separate ground beef so the pears ended up in little pieces, but I wish I thought of the food processor.
Kathryn says
Hi this recipe looks wonderful. I have a host of food allergies and would love to make a pear jam but have absolutely no idea of how to preserve I am allergic to citrus as well. My question is do you know how you could alter this recipe to account for the citrus allergy so it is still good to use. I have been all over the place trying to find a pear jam and pear chutney (pears are wonderful for those of use allergic to salycilates) that I can make to give me something tasty to add to s bland diet. Thanks in advance for any ideas or help in this direction. :):)
Cindy H says
How many jars did this make, and what size?
Mavis Butterfield says
This recipe made {4} 8 ounce jars of jam.
Cindy H says
Thank you!
Cindy H says
Made it today and it was very good. This recipe is a keeper!
Amy McCord says
5 cups of sugar seems like an awful lot, could I get away with using less?
Deborah says
If you have not already discovered, there is now freezer pectin and diabetic pectin that use less sugar in 2023. I just found out. In 2018, I don’t know if it was made back then.
Rhonda Guidry says
How long till the Jam sets mine has been sitting for about 6hrs and it still has not set.
Nancy says
Can I use an artificial sweetener in stead of sugar
Debbir says
I’m pretty new to canning but I have made Pear Jam before but used Certo liquid pectin. That recipe calls for you to put the sugar in with the pears, then bring to a boil, add the liquid pectin, then bring back to a boil. Your recipe calls for the sugar to be added after the first boil. I know the pears have a little liquid but Is there actually enough liquid to bring to a boil? I like your recipe better because you use less sugar than the liquid pectin recipe. Thank you
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes. Ripe pears are juicy. There will be enough liquid. 🙂
Cynthia says
I was given a huge can of diced pears (drained well) so I doubled the recipe and added cinnamon to taste. Really good!