Please help me with my "Canning Pears"

[PunkinPeep]

Last weekend, hubby and i took advantage of a freecycle offer to pick pears off of someone's trees.

The owners said these were "canning pears," not "eating pears."

That's fine. I figured they would just be a little harder than what you get in the grocery store.

They are. And i put a paper bag over the container of them (we picked about 20 gallons) to ripen them a little and make them a little softer.

But i'm really having a hard time with them. I assumed that i would just cut, core, and peel, but it's more laborious than i imagined. It's hard for me to get my knife through them.

Do you have any tips? Should i blanch them or something? I have a feeling that wouldn't help, but i'm open to suggestions. I really need to get these babies put away before they all rot in my living room.

 

[TanksHill]

I have no idea. Sorry!! Last year I raided a friends tree as well. I just peeled them all sliced and stuffed them in jars.

Is it that the pear itself is hard? Or the peel? Is it possible they weren't ready?

good luck!

 

[PunkinPeep]

I have no idea. Sorry!! Last year I raided a friends tree as well. I just peeled them all sliced and stuffed them in jars.

Is it that the pear itself is hard? Or the peel? Is it possible they weren't ready?

good luck!

Well, they're slightly soft to the touch, and we "picked" them by shaking the trees. What fell off, we picked up off the ground. I would have assumed that would mean they were ready.

The pears have a weird texture that makes it a big effort to slice through - well to do anything. I even just sharpened my knife, and it didn't really get much better. A lot of these pears are small. I really hope it's worth the effort.

 

[patandchickens]

I am a bit boggled at the idea of mature pears in June. What time do pears normally ripen around you? Because unless, somehow, the answer is "in June", then I think your problem is that some sharpie has talked you into removing rock-hard dead-green nowhere-near-ripe fruit off his tree, that I do not know as you'd be able to do much of *anything* with.

You could try boiling them up for pectin I suppose, as you would with green apples -- pears don't have nearly as much pectin as apples but OTOH when they are unripe there might be enough to do *something* with. Dunno.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[PunkinPeep]

I am a bit boggled at the idea of mature pears in June. What time do pears normally ripen around you? Because unless, somehow, the answer is "in June", then I think your problem is that some sharpie has talked you into removing rock-hard dead-green nowhere-near-ripe fruit off his tree, that I do not know as you'd be able to do much of *anything* with.

You could try boiling them up for pectin I suppose, as you would with green apples -- pears don't have nearly as much pectin as apples but OTOH when they are unripe there might be enough to do *something* with. Dunno.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

Pat, i live in deep east Texas. Spring starts in February.

I don't really know that much about fruit trees, etc., but i can tell you that we picked very ripe peaches and plums almost a month ago. So i feel fairly comfortable that the pears are timely - though i guess i don't really know.

I did read something just now that indicated that pears don't ripen on the tree. Maybe if i give it a couple more days, they'll be a little easier to handle.

 

[patandchickens]

Well ok, so maybe they ARE mature. My apples are about 3/4" diameter and my currants and cherries have scarcely begun to ripen yet, here

Put them in a paper box with a ripe apple or banana, that will hasten them along. Do check them daily though for any signs of problems developing.

GOod luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Yes, you pick pears while they are green and let them ripen in a cool, dark place. I'd give them another couple of days.

 

[PunkinPeep]

I'm having an idea.

Well, first, i think i'm going to give them another couple of days and see if they're any better to deal with.

But my other thought was this:

I'm thinking of making pear butter out of them. So would i be crazy to peel them whole and then boil them down and then pick out the cores and strain the seeds?

Maybe i'm grasping at straws.

 

[sufficientforme]

Are they Keiffer pears? I found a lot of information online about how to properly ripen them and they are supposed to be an excellent flavored pear when canned.
At whatever stage of maturity Kieffer pears are picked, they must go through a ripening process. During this process they develop a soft texture and pleasing flavor if the temperature is kept between 60 and 65 degrees. After two or three weeks at this temperature, Kieffer pears become properly soft and greatly improved in both texture and flavor. Lower or higher temperatures than 60 to 65 degrees act much more slowly or bring less satisfactory results. The length of the ripening period is shortest when the temperature is kept at 60 degrees and varies from 16 to 20 days if the fruit has been left on the tree until nearly full grown.
(pasted from an ezine article from someone in Texas)

Google them they are admired by many famous cooks in recipes!

 

[PunkinPeep]

Thanks very much!

That helps.

I also posted on a more local thread, and someone told me that you can blanch these kinds of pears to get the skins off very easily. How exciting. I am encouraged.