Vanilla Pears

A Canning Recipe

Hot Pack- Wash pears; drain. Cut into quarters or halves; core and peel. Treat to prevent darkening (highly recommended). Make a light syrup (we used a 30% syrup last year and a 20% syrup this year. You don't have to use a syrup at all, but I recommend it because it helps preserve the texture and the color.) Cut up a whole vanilla bean into approximately 3/8" pieces and add to your sugar syrup. Splitting the bean down the center will help release the vanilla seeds into the syrup. Keep syrup hot.

Cook pears one layer at a time in syrup for 5 to 6 minutes or until hot throughout. Put a small piece of cinnamon bark (about a 1/2" to 5/8" piece) and 3 to 6* cloves in each hot jar. Pack hot pears into hot jars leaving 1/2" head space. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two piece caps. Process pints 20 minutes, quarts 25 minutes, in a boiling-water bath canner.


*Remember that cinnamon and cloves will get stronger the longer they are in the jars so if you like a much spicier flavor, add more, but we used only three cloves per jar so that the vanilla (much more expensive) is the main flavoring. The vanilla accents rather than hides the pear flavor.

This is my favorite way to eat my pears: with Nancy's low-fat yogurt for breakfast.

This recipe is an adaptation of the instructions for canning pears from the Ball Blue Book Of Canning.