if you're ever confronted by an army of pears you know what you gotta do preserve them it's easy all you need is some mason jars and a little bit of know-how i'm here to show you how you two can become a connoisseur of preserves i'm silly oliveira and i'm a gardener interested in self-sufficiency follow me in my journey towards sustainability in my suburban homestead the first step to making pear preserves is to wash your jars well this is especially important if you're not using brand new jars you will also want to sterilize your jars put water to boil inside of a large pot and carefully using proper utensils drop your mason jars into the water leave them for 5 minutes remember to only use mason jars that are approved and made specifically for home canny make sure that the jars don't have fracture lines cracks or chips that can compromise the seal and the viability of your preserve while you wait for your jars to sterilize select the best pairs wash them well and cut them into 8 pieces if you want to peel them you can but i prefer not to you also want to remove the core with the seeds that area can cause bitterness in your preserve it's best left out as you cut them put them under water to prevent browning can your own food might seem difficult or even dangerous and if certain guidelines are not followed it can be but by properly following the instructions and processing your food in the right way it shouldn't be a problem carefully remove the jars from the pot and let them air dry unlike vegetables that can be a bit tricky to can and need a pressure canner to do so pears can be preserved using a water bath canner for a medium syrup use 6 cups of water to 3 cups of sugar i'm using pure cane sugar for a more natural alternative you might want to find recipes that use fruit juice instead of sugar the sugar will help stabilize the color and the shape as well as improve the flavor of the pears stir the syrup and bring it to a boil in order for the pears to be shelf stable and to prevent spoilage they need to be in an airtight acidic environment in such a sterile acidic environment bacteria cannot grow and harmful things like botulism should not develop train the pears and using a slotted spoon carefully put them in the boiling syrup be very careful with boiling syrup it can cause serious burns let the pears in the syrup return to a boil that should take about 5 minutes do not overcook them otherwise they will be mushy they still need to pass through the water canning process and if you overcook them at this point they will be mushy and fall apart as soon as it returns to boil remove the pot from the heat and start packing in your pears a wide mouth funnel is essential it will help you not to get sticky syrup in the lips of the jars if there is residue between the lid and the jar it will cause the lid not to properly seal use a spoon to assist in packing the pears to ensure a snug fit this recipe uses the hot packing method which is usually considered safer to do this video is only showing my own personal experience i am not an expert on canny improperly canned food can be severely harmful know what you're doing and do your own research after you have finished packing the pears fill the jars up with syrup leaving a half inch air space on top dip a clean paper towel in boiling water and use it to clean the lips of the jars it is very important that the lips are clean put your lids inside of hot water but not boiling using a magnetic tool pick them up and carefully position them over the lips of the jars ensuring a good seal remember to always use new lids never reuse lids screw in your lid rings but do not over tighten using a jar holder pick up the jars and carefully place them inside of boiling water if you live in lower altitudes process your pints for 20 minutes and your quartz for 25 minutes start counting when the water returns to a boil if you live in higher altitudes you will need to refer to recipe heat and pressure will build up inside of the jars which should sterilize the food in it after you're done processing put your jars in a dry draft free place leave them overnight remove the rings and see if the lids have attached themselves to the jar the safety indicator should be dimpled down if the lids pop up it's gone bad keep your jars in a dry cool place they should keep for a few months and when you open one it should smell clean and fresh join me next time remember to send in questions comments or tips to seed of choice at gmail.com and don't forget to subscribe to suburban homestead