Try boiling a pot of water and add pears with skin for 1 minute, remove and let sit till cooled down then peel, so much easier.

The perfect pear to use for pear preserves is a Keifer pear. This pear is not very pretty but it is a very firm pear great cooking, canning and making preserves. Enjoy :)

I covered 8 quarts of pear slices with 7 cups of sugar, & left overnight in covered pan. I poured the juice into a pan, & brought to a boil. Then added pear slices, & reduced heat to a simmer for over 2 hours until mixture is the color & consistency of honey. Pour into sterile jars leaving 1/4-inch on top, & lightly screw on lid. Can be stored after you hear a pop. If you don't hear the pop, make biscuits, & eat that jar now. It's best to peel the pears, because when done, the peels are too tough to chew. Also, I omit the lemon.

Use the hard pears. I use a mixture of brown & white sugar, along with some cinnamon and cloves. I put 1/4 C. brandy to a pint of pear preserves for a different twist. This isn't too strong but good on ice cream. I water bath the jars 15 minutes.

These preserves have a good taste, but I cooked for 3 1/2 hours and my juice never got the consistency of honey and my pears cooked away to nothing. Since these are my first pear preserves, can someone tell me where I went wrong. Also, nothing is mentioned about processing. I processed in a 15 minute water bath for safety.

I am currently on my fourth batch! Each time I've made a little differently. I cut the sugar to 6 cups. I used lemon in this last batch but don't like as much. And you would need to add more sugar if lemon is used. I did add pineapple to one batch and it was great! I used the full amount of sugar for that one. Canning pear preserves is my new favorite thing. Great, simple recipe. But you really need to boil for at least 2 hours or more. Gently.

I was very pleased to find this recipe, quick and very easy. This was my first attempt at preserves, my neighbor has a pear tree and tells up to pick them before the birds do! So I ended up with a crate full. Not sure how many pears I used but I ended up with 12 full 16oz jars! I also added a dash of cinnamon and a lot of lemon juice just to add my own mix on it. Thank a bunch, can't wait to try them :-)

Pears sitting in sugar now. We have 3 huge pot fulls. Not sure how long we will cook them. We like them to stay firm... I have had pear preserves that mushy and they are Not good like that. Hope they turn out good. I have a water blister on my finger lol

Possible remedy to runny, soupy results: Grandma cautioned me to use a good portion of unripe pears (as these contain the most pectin) and were critical for preventing runny preserves. Ripe pears for flavor; green pears for pectin. I've read through a dozen online recipes and not one made mention of this. BTW, Grandma only used whole cloves making sure that 3 buds made it into each jar after being simmered with the pears. Pure ecstasy!

I'm in the process of cooking the pears now, but I was wondering if anyone had tried using ginger with this recipe and if so, how does the flavor vary? Just wondering. I made a batch similar to this a few years ago and it was wonderful. I wanted to change it up a bit and saw some recipes with ginger. I might get brave enough to add a little ginger this time.

I didn't rate this because I didn't follow it exactly. I am responding to a previous question about what might be added. My mom used to make pear preserves -- probably much like this with less sugar. She also canned delicious pears -- some mixed with crushed pineapple and we canned the others with one cinnamon stick and one star anise in each quart. I don't see why that wouldn't be wonderful in this pear preserve recipe.

WWII rationing of sugar caused much less sugar to be used. Grandmother did not use pears that were really juicy or ripe so the texture of the preserves was somewhat more chewy than her peach preserves. Cloves were her spice of choice with pears.

This is the old fashioned recipe, like my grandma and mom used to make. A wonderful and simple recipe!!

This is the same recipe that my mother used. Taste is wonderful! Cooking time will vary according to the juiciness of the pears and the type of sauce pan used to cook them. Her sister used cloves instead of lemon, but I prefer the lemon.

I really love this recipe. It tasted just like my grandmother's.. It's a MUST have!!!

Just like my grandmothers! I cooked nearly all day to a "dark brown" color, as that is how I remembered them. Delish!

This recipe is the simple one I remember from standing at my grandmother's knee by the old 2-burner stove. I started from this, then searched recipes to see how long I needed to cook them. I altered this slightly, again from memory, and because I had only 4 softball-sized pears, I wanted to test my skills. I used juice of 1/2 lemon squeezing it over the slices of each pear, along with 1/3 cup sugar over each as I peeled them, transferred to a copper-bottomed pot, added water to cover, and brought them to a gentle boil, then immediately turned the heat down to a simmer, little bubbles around the edge. By 10 min. in, my kitchen was filled with the fragrances so dear to my memory! They are almost done now, and probably won't make it into jars! Thanks for all the tips, they turned out perfectly, with lots of syrup!

Great recipe. Tastes like the preserves my grandfather-in-law used to make. I've looked all over the Internet. No one says if they should be cooked covered or uncovered. I've tried it both ways. Cooking uncovered allowed moisture to cook off producing the correct syrup consistency within 2 hours for full batch.

I loved this recipe. We omitted the lemons. The cooking time was longer than the recipe but the flavor was wonderful. I plan on using this for a pie also.

I have made these pear preserves for years. I will occasionally add up to 2 cans of crushed pineapple and not use the lemons. Either way they are delish!

I use this method but I omit the lemon and add red hots cinnamon candy.

I used this recipe and cut the sugar to 6 cups and used a can of crushed pineapple and omitted the lemon. My husband loved the preserves and I must say I did too and I am not much of a pear person.

Many people have commented about omitting the lemon. I use lemon juice when I peel and slice my pears. The lemon juice keeps them from turning a darker brown. This recipe is for old fashioned pears not for the newer varieties. The old homestead type of pears' flesh were harder or firmer and did not cook to mush before the syrup thickened.They are also less juicy and took a shorter time to cook.

This amount of sugar will put you in a diabetic coma, reduce the sugar to 2 cups, increase the lemon juice to 2-3 tbs to reduce browning and boil for just 5 minutes before canning, then cover with boiling water for 20 minutes to seal the lids. This will make crunchy pears that taste like pears and not cane sugar.

Omit the lemon, but add 1/2 cup Karo Syrup. Mine took longer to cook than this says. My Aunt told me about the Karo, she said it keeps the preserves caramel color clear. They were delicious & beautiful last year. Using this recipe again this year.

Did you use light or dark Karo?

After peeling, coring, slicing, I soak my pears in a gallon or so of water with a few tablespoons of vinegar to keep them from turning dark. It's cheaper than lemons, fruit-fresh, or other commercial ascorbic acid.

Must use hard pears. Soft ones turn to mush.

I will use this recipe again, pear preserves turned out very good and look good too! I sliced, very thin and removed all seeds of 4 lemons. I didn't time the cooking, but it was much longer than 2 hours. However, I was using a thin bottom stainless steel pot and had to cook on lower heat, which would make a difference.

This is a good recipe. However, as the other respondents have said, the cooking time is much longer than this. I took my pears up at this time and they were way too watery. Used it again, cooked for over 3 hours, very good. if you have good, juicy ripe pears the liquid must cook down.

Great recipe. I didn't measure pears. 20 to 24 pears, peeled, cored and sliced. Only had 5 cups sugar. Worked superbly. Cooking time way off, 4 hrs and still was not thick like jelly but perfect on pancakes. Will use again next year when pears are ready.

Great recipe! My pears were not very flavorful and the lemons I bought were small, so I used 1 1/2 lemons. I was careful to take out all the lemon seeds, both before I put the slices in and during the cooking process (ones I had missed before). For any inexperienced cooks, pear preserves are supposed to be a dark caramel color, and DO NOT try to rush this recipe. I simmered my pears for about 2 1/2 hours. The amount of cooking time will be determined by the type of pears that you use. Mine were ripe and very juicy so it took longer to evaporate the liquid down to the "honey" consistency.

I made this pear preserves and it is awesome! I have family members almost fighting over the last of the small jars. lol

I love this recipe! Been making it for years... sometimes I add 2 to 3 whole cloves to the bottom (pint jars) and boy my kids and grandkids devour them! Just got finished prepare some more... the kids will be taking them back to Tennessee!