Canning the Pears

 My two pear trees are showing their age! Instead of the 15 to 25 bushels we have harvested some years there are about 6 or 8 bushels of pears. We picked all we could reach with the orchard ladder. We celebrated our annual Pear Picking Time with Ronee Jordan and her family.

These are Keiffer pears. They grow well in Oklahoma. The pears are big, crisp and sweet and keep well after harvest. 

Everyone joined in including the donkeys and dogs who were in it for the meal. Working here are Ronee, Quinton, and Ruth. 

This is Joe using the picker pole. Notice he came prepared with his own boy-sized work gloves.

 Today, I started canning pear sauce, which to my taste is better than applesauce. First, I peel and core the pears and set them to boil with some water.

 After they are softened, I add sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon and mash the pears like potatoes.

 In the meantime, I have boiled my pint jars in the water bath canner.and heated my lids in a saucepan.

 Oh, I dearly love my new (old) pottery bowl! Isn't it pretty filled with the pear sauce? Every time I use it I like it more.

 Next, I ladle the hot sauce into jars and add lids and rings. The jars go back into the bath canner. When the water covering the jars boils I cook for 25 minutes to seal the jars.

 After the twenty-five minutes, I lift the jars out of the boiling water and let them drip and cool on a dish cloth.

 They will keep for years or until we eat them all! Aren't they beautiful? I ate a bowl of the warm pear sauce and it was just right, sweet as honey almost, tart, and full of the wonderful taste of pear nectar.