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| Hello everyone! LTNS!! I have a good crop of asian pears this year :). I want to can up some quarts. NCHFP says: >Procedure: Wash and peel pears. Cut in halves and remove cores. Slice, if desired. To prevent discoloration, keep pears in an ascorbic acid solution. Prepare a very light, light, or medium syrup or pack pears in apple juice, white grape juice, or water. >Hot Pack - Boil drained pears 5 minutes in syrup, juice or water....Add 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice per pint jar or 2 tablespoons per quart jar. >Process quarts 25 minutes. How bad is it if I don't peel them? I am thinking that, with hot pack and a long processing time, the bacteria on the skin will be good and dead. Is that wrong? These are, I admit, a slightly rough-skinned variety. And, to add to my sins, I am tempted to use Santa Cruz Organics bottled lemon juice, since it tastes so much better than Realemon. Bad ideas? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| 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 |
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| 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. |
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| 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! |
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- Posted by Food_Lover six (My Page) on Sun, Sep 7, 14 at 19:24
| 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 |
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| @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. |
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| 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 Organic® Pure Lemon Juice.... >Sincerely, >Susan |
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| 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? |
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