Harvest is a joyful season. God says it is good for us to enjoy the fruit of our labor.

Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

Ecc. 5:18

Makes 7 quarts, or 14 pints

You want to start by washing your pears, getting off any dirt that can put bacteria into your jar and keep it from sealing.

After you pears are washed, peel them. Cut into halves or quarters to remove the core. Then cut into your desired slice width, like you would apples.

Take a stock pot, and put it on the stove with 2 gallons of water and 2 cups of sugar. Then fill the rest of your stock pot with the sliced pears. Let cook on medium heat for 2 minutes, you don’t want them to turn into mush!

Canning Preparation:

Fill your canner half way with water, and turn on. Put your empty jars in your oven on ‘warm’. If your oven doesn’t have a ‘warm’ setting, just put it on the lowest setting it has.

When everything is hot/warm, you are ready for the next step.

Fill your hot jars with the hot slices, leaving an inch of head space in the top of your jar. Pack pear slices tightly into jar. Put a butter knife down the insides of your jar (between the glass and the pears) to let out any air bubbles in the jar. Wipe your rims clean with a rag or paper towel to remove any food fragments. If you don’t do this, it can prevent your lids from sealing tightly to your jar.

Put on your pre-warmed lids and screw on your rings tightly. Put your jars into your warm water in your canner, with a jar lifter, pictured below.

Canning/Water Bathing

After all the jars are in the canner, you want your water to be one inch above the jars for water bathing. Turn on high. When the water starts to boil, set your timer for 25 minutes for quart jars or 20 minutes for pint jars. Turn stove to medium heat. When timer goes off, turn heat off, and let canner sit for 5 minutes. Then, carefully take out your jars with a jar lifter and set them on a towel on your countertop to cool. If your bands are loose, do not tighten them..

Let cool for 12 hours. Check seals and store.

The reason you want to check the seals is to make sure they are all secure before you store them.

You check the seals by tapping the jar lids with one finger. As you tap them, listen for a jar that sounds different than the rest of them. It will usually make a hollow sound.

If you find a jar that hasn’t sealed, put it in the fridge and use it soon. If you are planning more canning, you can try to can it again. Make sure there are no nicks in the top of jar and a good lid on it.

Blessed is every one that feareth Yehovah; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

Ps. 128:1-2