I canned more pears yesterday. I gave a jar to my
daughter to take home to my Grandson. When she
left, I opened a jar to have some for myself. They
were delicious, but then very shortly after that,
my lips, tongue and throat starting burning. Not a
painful burn, but very noticeable. I called her and
told her to not give him the pears.

I canned them exactly as I did last year. Everything
was clean and sterile. I used a sugar water, 2 cups
of sugar to 6 cups water, in which I boiled them for
five minutes. Then they were put in the hot jars and
processed for 25 minutes. The sugar was a new bag.

I ate several pieces yesterday when I was preparing
them to process, and I didn't have this problem. They
had a wonderful taste.

I am heartbroken as I look forward to the pears so
much every year and use them all year long. I was
planning to make a pear pie for Thanksgiving.

Does anyone have ANY idea on what could have happened
to cause this?

Thanks so much,
Surilda

Do you have any of these same symptoms when you eat other foods? Do you have ulcers or white splotches on your tongue? You might have something "going on" in your mouth of which you're not aware.

It sounds like your entire canning process was right on-the-mark, unless you used a pan that "had problems". Aluminum? Enamelware with chips in it that caused the metal to be exposed?

It just doesn't make sense, does it? I hope someone else has some suggestions.

Good luck,
Kathy

I'm leaning toward the additive issue, like Lizzy, or some type of food sensitivity.

Annie

I didn't use fruit fresh. I did put my cut pieces
of pear in cold water with some lemon juice in it,
as I worked, but I did that last year too.

I cooked my pears with the suar water in a pressure
cooker pan (no lid). This was the only thing
different from last year. More room to work with
the larger pan.

No allergies or problems like this before, and
there wasn't a problem eating them before they were
canned.

I'm thinking about opening another jar and seeing
if the same thing happens.

Honestly, I can't think of anything other than that which might explain what's happening. The only other possibility is an external factor such as chemotherapy or some health condition whch is causing a reaction.

Pears just do not present the sort of risk you might find in beans, or corn or other low-acid foods and I don't see any "smoking gun" in what you describe.

If your daughter feels comfortable with it, she might try a tiny taste on her tongue to see if she has a similar sensation. That at least narrows the possibilities.

Carol

When I was researching (like I did before I wrote you previously) I read about an allergic reaction with fruit from certain trees. I quote here:

"So, what does this have to do with fruits and oral itching and burning? Well, many fruits contain proteins that are structurally similar to protein antigens found in pollens, particularly birch tree pollen, but also other trees and ragweed. The list of fruits is long, but includes apple, pear, cantaloupe, banana and kiwi. So when a pollen allergic person eats a fruit with a structurally similar protein, they may experience intense itching and burning of the lips, mouth and throat. Occasionally, there is mild swelling as well."

Maybe this information will be helpful.

Kathy

I guess I may have an allergy to the pears as eating
them did not make me feel ill or snything, and with
that awesome taste, they were ok.

I will ask someone else to try a small piece.
Although I may be allergic now to pears, I don't
want my Grandson to be deprived of them, so I would
like to be sure that the pears just affected ME.

My daughter and grandson were grocery shopping
the other day and she asked him if he wanted
some pears. He said, "NO, Grandma is canning
pears". :>)

Thanks again,
Surilda

Kathy, I read about the birch tree pollen and reactions
from it, except that I never had any itching or swelling.
Just the burning. It is a very real possibility though
that this is what I have developed. However, I will
try the pears again later and see if I have the reaction
again. I love them too much to give them up without
a fight! :<)

Thanks to each of you for your help and suggestions!

Annie

But very glad that at least your family can have the pears; I hope you can come back to them, too, but I do know that sometimes giving somethign away is the best part.

I especially am sympathetic because the last thing I did before I left town was can some pears --- they were still sitting on my counter when I got back today! They were the last of the season from our favourite local orchard.

Smaller than usual with the cool, rainy summer, which made for a lot of peeling, but then I was able to can them in halves (usually I do quarters or chunks), which look very pretty! The Flemish Beauties, which are my usual favourite, had a bad year --- the skins were spotted from a fungus so the farmer didn't have them for sale, though she gave me a little basket free to use for jam. What I got were a bunch of lovely little d'Anjou pears, which was kind of special since d'Anjou is my family name.

Anyway, please keep us posted on how your battle with the pears goes! I sure hope you are able to enjoy them in the future.

Z