I might cut one corner with them - leave any peel that isn't too bad or peel and use your preferred lemon juice. But I wouldn't cut both corners. Choose - peel or use the approved lemon juice. :)

Keep in mind they are a low-acid fruit to begin with so that natural pH protection isn't there as it would be with most other fruits.

Dave

my neighbor is overrun by asian pears so i was just scrambling for recipes. yesterday a friend sent me a.p.'s in honey syrup from the Joys of Jams. it's for pts or qts. it's delicious ! so easy, and the spices are added per jar , so you can experiment with just one jar. i tried wet and dry zings from nwedibles.com
16 pts. with 8 different flavors.
the skins- i dunked the pears in vinegar and water for a few minutes. didn't rinse but just put them on trays. i'm thinking the vinegar would take care of some bacteria, plus the BWB time. of course i peeled off any dark or funny spots. i left strips of the skins on, but just canned yesterday so can't tell how that works. but i did save the peelings and cores for my 1st try at making vinegar.
these pears also had rough skins, and most were not quite ripe but very edible. the leftovers from the BWB i boiled for 15 min. and the skins were not an issue. in fact, i think they disappeared ! it also made a great reduction of the syrup.
if you try this recipe, please let me know how it compares to NCHFP recipe, and how the skins did. i'm sure i'll be canning some next year.

Thanks, Dave and pattypan!

@pattypan: I made vinegar from asian pear cores last year, and it came out lovely! I think you will be very happy with it :).

I am planning to do a light honey syrup, if the liquid that comes out of the pears isn't enough. I have some nice, dark honey :).

If you have any pears left, they will continue to ripen after picking. Yum!

Dave, can you say more about the lemon juice issue? I think I missed this. I know we are supposed to use only bottled lemon juice (or bottled lime in salsas) but this is the first I have heard about brand differences or issues. Would you be willing to explain the issues or point me to a good source for this info? I think I use the Santa Cruz lemon juice that the OP mentioned.
Thanks for your help,
Jay

@Jay:

IIUC, the NCHFP tests were done with Realemon, and the concern is that other brands, or fresh lemons, may vary in acidity and/or be less acid than Realemon.

I sent an email to Santa Cruz Organics yesterday, asking whether their juice is standardized and, if so, at what level of acidity. They have not replied yet. I tried calling their customer service department today, but they were closed. Surprise! they are on east coast time :).

I did find this article online, which says that juice from grocery store fresh lemons in the US is reliably more acid than Realemon, and thus is safe for canning:

http://agardenerstable.com/2011/04/19/real-lemon-versus-realemon/

I'd love to hear any thoughts folks here have on this article.

Got email from Santa Cruz:

>September 10, 2014

>Dear Nila,

>...In response to your inquiry, we do not test for acidity in our Santa Cruz Organicî Pure Lemon Juice....

>Sincerely,

>Susan
>Consumer Relations Representative

I put 2T plus 1t in each quart, more than the NCHFP amount of 2T. That plus the fact that it is /probably/ more acid than 4.5% seems reasonably safe to me.

But I am still open to persuasion that I should do the next batch differently!

I don't think I can handle the sulfites in Realemon. I am having allergy problems.

Dave and Carol, do y'all think, based on the link I posted, that fresh squeezed raw lemons would be safer than the Santa Cruz not-from-concentrate stuff?

Pattypan - which combinations of wet and dry zings from nwedibles did you like best? Did you find the AP's gritty? thanks, sam

sam, we have fruit from the previous 2 years left, so i hadn't opened any asian pears. my neighbor liked the ones with ginger that i gave to her. the other flavors were 1/8 to 1/4 tsp/pint : anise seed. brandy, cardamom seed, rum, triple sec, and plain. i opened one with cardamom, my husband thinks it's perfect ;o) there are just some thin strips of peel, not an issue. the pears were definitely underripe ( i had never had asian pears before), so they were firm but easily cut with a fork. a bit gritty, i didn't mind. interesting flavor, a hint of sweetness with a hint of tartness and a hint of honey. i wouldn't have guessed the cardamom was there.

next year i'll try frangelico since with plums it was fantastic. patty