Pears: Preserves, Syrup, Jelly & Taffy!?

17 years ago

I have been making pear preserves for the last 2 days. Well, what were supposed to be pear preserves.

I used Carol's recipe but I MUST have done something very wrong! The first batch I did excactly like the recipe said. Well other than converting the weight of the pears and sugar to cups that is. Maybe that's what I did wrong. After converting I used 9 1/2 cups of sugar and 9 1/2 cups of sliced pears. I threw in more pears though to make up for the fact that they were slices and all I could find at the time was my 1 cup measuring cup so they didn't fit in there to well.....so it ended up being more pears not that it seemed to matter!

Anyhow, the first batch was really pretty but there was so much syrup. There was much more syrup than pears. It turned out kinda like pear honey. It's good, don't get me wrong, but not exactly what I was expecting. I got 7 jars of pear honey canned.

The second batch I followed the recipe but cooked it much longer. According to my Mom this is how she did them. Probably 2 hours on medium heat. These turned out to be thicker preserves. The kind I'm used to. BUT I didn't add a lot of the syrup when I put them in the jars. I packed the jars good with the pears and some of the syrup. After that, I still had a good amount of syrup left in the pot, so brilliant me decides to make jelly out of it. Well, I cooked it about 5 minutes more and poured it in 2 jars. One jar of the "jelly" got BWB the other didn't. The one that got BWB looks like syrup, the one that didn't turned into TAFFY. Now how in the heck am I gonna get that out of the jar!?

Today has not been my day, can you tell?

Whew, I'm tired of pears. Too bad I'm going to go get more and try again on Friday! Please someone steer me in the right direction. What the heck did I do wrong?

Sorry it's so long, but like many other's I needed someone to vent to. DH just doesn't get it....and Mom wonders how in the heck does someone mess up something as easy as pear preserves! Leave it to me to be the one.........

Jessie

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

annie1992
17 years ago
Jessie, I screwed up the first batch too, and made pear taffy, if that helps at all.

Finally I used more pears and less sugar and got something I liked, but it wasn't exactly like the jar Carol sent me. Mine was more like a very chunky jam, Carol's was more like candied pear slices in syrup.

I cut mine a little more finely and that's why it became jam, I think. I still love the stuff...

Annie
jessay3
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks Annie, I'm happy to know I'm not the only one. I think I will cut the pears up finer to be more like a jam. That's the kind I remember from childhood. They were really thick and dark but not too much syrup.

Gonna try again this weekend, but I'm still enjoying the ones I've already canned. They are OH SO GOOD on toast, even if they are a bit runny, which of course I end up dropping on my shirt!

Wonder how the "pear honey" would taste over vanilla icecream? Got to give it a try. Hmmm....homemade pound cake..........??????

Jessie
Related Discussions
Melly's Vanilla Bean Peach Preserves -- Questions
Q
Comments (30)
Yes, I did Melly - half light brown sugar added to the peaches, the other half of the sugar is cane sugar added to the pan. Used the last of the bottle of Frangelico, just barely 6 oz, in place of the rum. Like you said about the peaches, the nectarines were sorry but the jam is fantastic. I figured the Frangelico being hazelnut would do the same thing for nectarines that almond does for peaches. I made your Peach Vanilla Almond (no beans) Jam today, with clear vanilla extract (1 tsp) and almond extract (1/2 tsp) added at the end. I got 6 8-oz jars, plus a half dozen chunks and some syrup left in the pan. I had boiled the pits (some not quite ripe so chunks left on the pits) and peels, planning to make the Peach Honey or syrup, but had 4C of juice so decided to put that in the pan with a small slice of ginger and a quart of frozen (thawed) blackberries from last year, pulled some berries out after heating to dissolve the sugar, used the same "French plunge" method adding the reserved berries after the syrup was almost gelled. I'm not sure I have a good set, and most of the fruit ended up in the first 4 jars (I got 5), and it's floating, but I'm calling it "Preserves" if it doesn't set hard. I got another 2 jars of "jelly" (or syrup?) I processed and then another almost 12 oz (10 oz?) I put in the fridge and boy it tastes yummy. Not bad for 4 lbs of peaches and a quart of berries (and 10C of sugar, and all day)! The jelly is such a beautiful color (except for a stray seed here and there) that I think next time I'm just going to add blackberry juice instead of whole berries and see whether that has enough pectin to make the peach juice set. I really prefer the taste of no-pectin preserves. Next time I have peaches, I'm thinking of trying the Helen Witty Peach-Rum Jam. Just had to have something the kids could eat this time since DD was the one who insisted I buy 6 lbs of peaches at the orchard this week ;-) Thanks for the recipe!
...See More
Is it a pickle? .. or preserve
Q
Comments (8)
I guess it's a preserve because the tomatoes are left whole -- I have an old Strawberry preserve recipe from the University of Georgia Extension Service that treats the berries the same way except you don't prick them. I hadn't paid much attention to the salt ... is that a lot for a preserve? Maybe that why they call it Sweet Pickled? Kay
...See More
Your most meaningful preserves
Q
Comments (19)
Seatlesuze, I'm always proud/happy to share my favorite recipes. I hope you enjoy these, thanks for asking! LIME PICKLES 1 cup lime (hydrated) 1 gal. water 7 lbs cucumbers, chunked or sliced 1/4 inch thick (don't peel) Syrup: 2 quarts vinegar 11 cups sugar 1 tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon celery seed 1 teaspoon mustard seed 1 teaspoon pickling spice Slice cucumbers and put in a large non metal container (I use a 5 gallon plastic bucket). Stir lime into water, mix well. Pour lime mixture over cucumbers. Put a plate on the top of the cucumbers (to hold them under liquid). and let them soak 24 hours. Remove cucumbers and wash lime off under running water. Let washed cucumber slices soak in cold water 5 hours. In large pot bring syrup ingredients to a boil. Drain cucumber slices and add them to hot syrup. Let cucumbers soak in syrup mixture over night. Simmer all ingredients about 40 minutes (or longer) until slices become transparent and sort of float to the top. One at a time place slices in prepared canning jar, pack tightly. Pour hot syrup mixture over slices to cover cucumbers. Seal jars in a hot water bath. These pickles are a lot of work; but they are delicious! They are especially good used in potato, ham, turkey and chicken salads. My dad (and husband) love to eat them, but have to leave the house when they're cooking in the hot syrup. AUNT SUSIE K'S GREEN TOMATO RELISH 4 cups onion 1 medium head cabbage 10 green tomatoes 12 green peppers 6 red peppers 1/2 cup salt Syrup: 6 cups sugar 4 cups vinegar 2 cups water Grind vegies together (I use a food processor). Stir in the salt and let mixture stand over night. Rinse vegetables and drain. Heat syrup ingredients together to a boil. Add vegies and simmer 3 minutes. Seal mixture in prepared canning jars in a 10 minute host water bath.
...See More
Blackberry Preserves ? Not Jam Or Jelly?
Q
Comments (23)
I have been making jams and jellies for years and years using the sterile jar, cover quickly with parafin method. Only on one batch did I have some mold.....and that was lots of years ago and it was plum jam and I had put a cinnamon stick and a few cloves in some of the jars and the mold formed around the cinnamon stick. I have 6 or 8 jars of crabapple jelly in the basement now....as clear and as lovely as they were when I sealed them with wax in the fall of 2009. I have been making preserves and jams and jellies like this since easily 1960 and only had maybe 3 jars mold....that plum stuff! Usually I manage to use it up or give it away during a year and so start fresh....but sometimes I go hog wild on something that is in season and it lasts. A couple of years ago, I found some jelly hidden on a shelf that had to be more than 10 years old. It was dark and I no longer remember what kind it was, but it was just poured into a jelly glass, not a canning jar, sealed with parafin and stacked on a shelf. There was no mold....I wasn't about to eat it...but I did open and wash the jars to reuse....but the jam or jelly wasn't moldy. Keep your glasses or jars sterile, cover quickly with a thin layer of wax....and when that has hardened add another layer and you won't have mold problems. And it's so easy! AGAIN.....this is for high sugar fruits....not for pickles nor canned vegetables.
...See More
annie1992
17 years ago
Oh no, Jessie, don't put it on toast. Cut the toast into "fingers" and dip it into the preserves. Ashley does that, just puts a spoonful on a plate and dunks the toast so there are preserves on every single bite. :-)

As soon as pears are ready here, I'm trying again.

Annie

Pears: Preserves, Syrup, Jelly & Taffy!?

Comments (3)

annie1992

jessay3
Original Author

Related Discussions

annie1992

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Pears: Preserves, Syrup, Jelly & Taffy!?

Comments (3)

annie1992

jessay3Original Author

Related Discussions

annie1992

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

jessay3
Original Author